Xonotic: The Free and Fast Arena Shooter http://xonotic.org/
en-usAnt ZucaroCopyright (c) 2009 - 2014, Ant Zucaro; all rights reserved.2018-03-11 14:10:00 +0000 +0000packer's Xonotic Duel Cup VODs availablehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2018/packers-xdc-vods/
Sun, 11 Mar 2018 14:10:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2018/packers-xdc-vods/<p>Long time player and contributor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/packerxonotic/videos">packer</a> has uploaded a ton of videos on demand from the
last Xonotic Duel Cup. If you want hours and hours of exciting gaming content, look no further!
He went far beyond simple demo-rendering for this one. You get <em>both</em> player perspectives in one
along with their country of origin, the map being played, and the current set points for each
player. It&rsquo;s really a great piece of work. Check them out!</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=5p8KGVTkCSM">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #01, Smilecythe vs kwakkie, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=839vNnpSenU">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #02, Diomedes vs Ramses, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=cMCOajReS-g">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #03, SpiKe vs Freddy, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=q8TsmVQ8KiM">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #04, pillow vs proraide, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=jf1AhMebZVA">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #05, Dodger vs Lightbringer, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=sdq_vfeeuxU">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #06, packer vs Hotdog, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=K3D65pD_Se4">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #07, Mirio vs Morosophos, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=vqL1jqtrct8">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #08, Halogene vs sinety, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=DMGL9FxiUgI">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #09, kwakkie vs Ramses, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=XwFHdeipa1Q">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #10, Freddy vs proraide, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=eiGXtb_K4eQ">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #11, Lightbringer vs Hotdog, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=hFv3Cq4Mty8">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #12, Morosophos vs sinety, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=VWtTHMzpobY">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #13, Smilecythe vs Diomedes, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=lN9p9pPfV-o">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #14, SpiKe vs pillow, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=unJSF-w5TkI">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #15, Dodger vs packer, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=lKpLtdJCjrc">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #16, Mirio vs Halogene, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=wQMeuBt72bQ">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #17, Diomedes vs sinety, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=Xqaw-KIbrs4">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #18, pillow vs Hotdog, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=V1xzBd2i5k0">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #19, packer vs Freddy, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=bmSQKvGw11I">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #20, Halogene vs Ramses, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=sKOy3J6LYI4">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #21, pillow vs Diomedes, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=FwdCfKA3L8w">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #22, Halogene vs packer, Bo3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=3MG_AfUl2Do">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #23, Smilecythe vs SpiKe, Bo5</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=2WGORG-VMM8">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #24, Dodger vs Mirio, Bo5</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=osReyp9y3OU">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #25, Halogene vs SpiKe, Bo5</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=6ZdeYpcwYSE">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #26, Mirio vs pillow, Bo5</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=EP_aeaFVEoo">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #27, SpiKe vs Mirio, Bo5</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=aKhyL4nRTnk">Xonotic Duel Cup, Game #30, Smilecythe vs Mirio, Bo7</a></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you packer for doing an awesome job.</p>
XonStat Records its Millionth Gamehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2018/xonstats-millionth-game/
Mon, 26 Feb 2018 00:53:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2018/xonstats-millionth-game/<p>XonStat has recorded its millionth game! Our game count totals have
been steadily rising over the past two years as they inched closer and closer towards that magical
seven-digit number. Now it has come and gone with the conclusion of an unbalanced <a href="https://stats.xonotic.org/game/1006002">1v1 CTF
match</a>. Little did Kult and Sandoz know that they were taking part in history! It&rsquo;s
a shame that I couldn&rsquo;t shower them with in-game confetti or something&hellip;</p>
<p>Astute link-watchers will note that this match doesn&rsquo;t have the exact ID of 1000000. The reason for
that is pretty simple: plain old human error! It took quite a while before all the bugs were worked
out of the system, and in the mean time the ID ticker in our trusty database kept on increasing (without a care in the
world, you could say). Through much trial, error, and finger-crossing, we now have the relatively
stable system you&rsquo;ve come to know and love (or hate, or whatever it is you feel towards stats).</p>
<p>All of these games obviously wouldn&rsquo;t be possible without this wonderful community, so thanks!
Without all of you enjoying yourselves playing our little game, I wouldn&rsquo;t get such delight at
looking at the latest numbers at the top of the XonStat landing page every morning. Frag on,
friends, and here&rsquo;s to those ever-increasing numbers.</p>
2017 By The Numbershttp://xonotic.org/posts/2018/2017-by-the-numbers/
Sun, 21 Jan 2018 14:00:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2018/2017-by-the-numbers/<p>We said goodbye to the year 2017 quite a while ago, so now it is time once again to see what
that year&rsquo;s worth of data had to tell us. As I did last year, I unleashed <a href="http://pandas.pydata.org/">Pandas</a> and
<a href="http://matplotlib.org/">Matplotlib</a> on 2017 data from the database that powers XonStat:
<a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonstatdb">XonStatDB</a>. Let&rsquo;s see what it has to tell us!</p>
<p>Let&rsquo;s first look at the number of games throughout the year:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_games_per_month.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_games_per_month.png" title="2017 Games Per Month" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>The number of games for the first part of the year - through July - is lower than the year
before, in most cases only by a little. What&rsquo;s interesting is that the rest of the year has higher
numbers! Unfortunately they weren&rsquo;t enough to make up the huge two months we had in January and
February last year, so the overall amount of games through the year is down by just over 19K. The
discrepancy might be explained by the heightened interest in the game through all of the practice
sessions, YouTube videos, and player interviews for the Xonotic World Cup that was going on at
the time. Perhaps it is time to do another one of those!</p>
<p>Next let&rsquo;s check the most popular time to find games:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_hours_heatmap.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_hours_heatmap.png" title="2017 Hours Heatmap" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>Once again 8PM UTC takes the cake for the most popular time to play. This corresponds to the
evening time for EU residents, so it appears that they enjoy de-stressing by fragging. As far
as days go, Friday is unsurprisingly the best one. Everyone is getting their weekends started
right!</p>
<p>The next chart shows the number of distinct players per month.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_players_per_month.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_players_per_month.png" title="2017 Players Per Month" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>As with the number of games, the number of players is down for the first half of the year compared
with 2016. However, unlike the number of games measure the overall number of distinct players for 2017 is much higher!
Approximately 3K more players played in 2017. It follows
that the bigger the pool of players that we have available to play in games, the more games we&rsquo;ll end up
having, so let&rsquo;s do our best to welcome these new players into our community so we can have an
awesome 2018.</p>
<p>Next let&rsquo;s have a look at weapons:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_weapon_damage_per_month.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_weapon_damage_per_month.png" title="2017 Weapon Damage Per Month" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>We can&rsquo;t extrapolate a ton of information from this chart given that it contains data from
all game modes and all configurations, but it is useful to get a high level view of what weapons
players are using. On that front it is good to see that each weapon has a place or &ldquo;band&rdquo; on the
vertical bars, which indicates that all of them are being used. We&rsquo;d have a concern if any
of the &ldquo;core&rdquo; weapons were only represented with tiny slivers.</p>
<p>As a fun side note to this chart, please be aware that the blaster metrics are excluded. When I
ran the numbers this time I saw some truly whacky numbers for that weapon that I&rsquo;ve yet to explain.
I&rsquo;ll defer that explanation to another time so I can do some analysis! It&rsquo;s likely that some server
was misconfigured. Who knows - someone could have hosted a week long blaster-only tournament. The
jury is still out on this one.</p>
<p>Moving on to the frags dealt by all of those weapons:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_weapon_frags_per_month.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2018/01/2017_weapon_frags_per_month.png" title="2017 Weapon Frags Per Month" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>This one also has representation from each of the weapons in the game, which is good to see! One point to
note is that the devastator almost always leads in frags versus, say, the vortex. A common
complaint is that the vortex is overpowered (op), but the data both on damage and frags indicates
otherwise, at least in the general sense. More digging into different modes may yield different
conclusions.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s it for this year&rsquo;s data exploration. As mentioned before, I&rsquo;ve placed the code
that generated these charts on <a href="https://github.com/antzucaro/xonotic-by-the-numbers">Github</a> if you&rsquo;re the coding type. If you&rsquo;re not, I hope
to see you out on the servers instead - let&rsquo;s get out there and do our best to bump up
the 2018 numbers!</p>
phrantic walkthroughhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2017/2017-09-29-phrantic-walkthrough/
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 06:57:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2017/2017-09-29-phrantic-walkthrough/<p>I had some free time last night, so I dusted off the old microphone and did a map review and
walkthrough of phrantic! Made by cortez, the map is a reimagination of the classic Quake 3 CPMA
map with several twists specific to Xonotic. It&rsquo;s visually beautiful and geared
towards deathmatch. Check it out!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cZ9JP05t_hM"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>Great job, cortez!</p>
<p>Join the discussion of the map <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=7389&amp;pid=80826#pid80826">on the forums</a>.</p>
XonPickup’s database examinedhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2017/xonpickups-database-examined/
Mon, 03 Jul 2017 17:00:00 CESTAnt Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2017/xonpickups-database-examined/<p>Did you ever wonder which would be the best time to join <a href="https://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=xonotic.pickup">#xonotic.pickup</a> for a match?
We&rsquo;ll answer this question and more in the following article about the activity of the <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1877">pickup</a> community.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia1.jpg" title="Diagram 1"></a></p>
<p>The first diagram shows 2,519 pickup games played by 324 unique players, which have been tracked by the XonPickup bot since 24th July 2012. 2012 and 2017 look quite low because we don&rsquo;t have the data for the whole year.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia2.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia2.jpg" title="Diagram 2"></a></p>
<p>The following graph goes more in-depth and shows each quarter of the year.
The red dots indicate official releases. After a recent decline, the community stepped up and fragged a lot in the past quarter!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia3.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia3.jpg" title="Diagram 3"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia4.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia4.jpg" title="Diagram 4"></a></p>
<p>According to this graph the most active time is April - June. Apparently Xonotic players don’t spend the summer days in front of their PC. ;)</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia5.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia5.jpg" title="Diagram 5"></a></p>
<p>This graph confirms the previous conclusion - it shows a huge decrease in the number of matches starting in July.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia7.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia7.jpg" title="Diagram 7"></a></p>
<p>Here we can see which game mode is the most popular. Among team modes this would be Team Deathmatch (TDM). For more detailed numbers see <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia6.jpg">this graph</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia8.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia8.jpg" title="diagram 8"></a></p>
<p>Who would have thought that Wednesday and Sunday are the best days to find a pickup match?</p>
<p>Note that all the following graphs about times display utc+2 times since (central) Europe is responsible for the vast majority of pickup matches.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia9.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia9.jpg" title="diagram 9"></a></p>
<p>The best time to join would be 19:00 – 21:00 (7:00 – 9:00 pm).
The North American community is the reason for the spike around 5:00 am.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia10.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia10.jpg" title="diagram 10"></a></p>
<p>If we take a close look, your best chance to find a match would be 20:00 – 20:30 (8:00 – 8:30 pm). An even more detailed graph can be found <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia11.jpg">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia12.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia12.jpg" title="diagram 12"></a></p>
<p>The days with most matches are: 12th March; 6th April; 24th April and 10th May.
The only day without any game in almost five years is the 31st of December.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia13.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia13.jpg" title="diagram 13"></a></p>
<p>For some strange reason the most matches happen Mondays around 20:30 (8:30 pm), while Monday is the least active day overall.
Single graphs for each day of the week: <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia14.jpg">Monday</a>; <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia15.jpg">Tuesday</a>; <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia16.jpg">Wednesday</a>; <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia17.jpg">Thursday</a>; <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia18.jpg">Friday</a>; <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia19.jpg">Saturday</a>; <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia20.jpg">Sunday</a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia21.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/07/dia21.jpg" title="diagram 21"></a></p>
<p>The last graph shows how much each gamemode is played during the week. It is actually distributed quite evenly.</p>
<p>Top 10 most active players:</p>
<ol>
<li>packer (639 matches)</li>
<li>mirio (639)</li>
<li>spike (617)</li>
<li>foxyjouk (416)</li>
<li>gatts (391)</li>
<li>hotdog (367)</li>
<li>silencekiller (334)</li>
<li>proraide (327)</li>
<li>diomedes (301)</li>
<li>pendulla (297)</li>
</ol>
<p>Top 10 active players of 2017:</p>
<ol>
<li>paythebill (43)</li>
<li>packer (42)</li>
<li>dekry (27)</li>
<li>freddy (27)</li>
<li>lightbringer (25)</li>
<li>mirio (24)</li>
<li>spike (22)</li>
<li>diomedes (21)</li>
<li>silencekiller (21)</li>
<li>gatts (20)</li>
</ol>
<p>I would like to close out this article by inviting every player to join the pickup community for some matches to rack up the numbers even more. Players of all skill levels are welcome!</p>
Xonotic 0.8.2 Releasehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2017/xonotic-0-8-2-release/
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 14:00:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2017/xonotic-0-8-2-release/
<p>Avoid the April foolery with some fast-paced fragging: Xonotic 0.8.2 is available today! Comprised of over a year&rsquo;s worth of effort, this one packs quite a shotgun slap. There&rsquo;s vehicle improvements, a quick menu, minigames, and several new weapon models to mention just a few things. Grab yourself a copy using the information below, then read on for more details of the changes before you bunny hop into the fray.</p>
<h4 id="download-information">Download information:</h4>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.2.zip">Download via HTTP</a><br />
<a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.2.zip.torrent">Download via torrent</a><br />
MD5: 1bd46c1fb79aae42bb13e74f5a0ff46e<br />
Package size: 946M</p>
<p>Already have Xonotic on your machine? There&rsquo;s no need to download the game again to get into the action. Use the following steps to upgrade your client to the 0.8.2 release:</p>
<ol>
<li>Navigate to your Xonotic installation folder</li>
<li>Navigate to the misc/tools/rsync-updater folder</li>
<li>Execute the update-to-release.sh (for Linux or Mac) or update-to-release.bat (for Windows) and wait for it to complete</li>
<li>Profit. You&rsquo;re done!</li>
</ol>
<h4 id="feature-highlights">Feature Highlights</h4>
<p>Here are some feature highlights for this release:</p>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/TimePath">TimePath</a> has been working tirelessly on the codebase to improve its quality. His efforts have removed many longstanding issues originating as far back as the original Quake! All that refactoring has made Xonotic much more developer friendly, which we hope will encourage more contributions. The organizational changes he&rsquo;s made also structure the code such that a move to an alternative engine, <a href="https://wiki.unvanquished.net/index.php?title=Engine">daemon</a>, is possible in the future.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/quickmenu.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/quickmenu_t.jpg" title="Quick Menu" class="right th m10"></a>Developer <a href="https://gitlab.com/terencehill">terencehill</a> has added a &ldquo;quick menu&rdquo; system to the in-game HUD layer. This system allows you to expand your configuration options without having to occupy additional keybindings. Access it by hitting the F8 key (by default), which will bring up a menu overlay on your screen where you can then use the arrow keys to navigate and make selections. terencehill has also helpfully included an <a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir/blob/master/quickmenu_example.txt">example configuration file</a> for customizing the options in your quick menu.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/boil.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/boil_t.jpg" title="Boil" class="left th m10"></a>Mapping czar <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=213">Mirio</a> and his team have integrated several new maps for our collective playing enjoyment. In addition to fixing many details of existing maps in the portfolio we now have <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=6749">Boil</a> by <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=184">kuniu the frogg</a>, <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=447">Geoplanetary</a> by <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=310">MintOX</a>, and <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=5715">Erbium</a> by <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=380">Justin</a> shipped with the game. Both Boil and Erbium are deathmatch-oriented maps, each with a unique look-and-feel. Geoplanetary is a CTF-oriented map with an open design, a central vortex location, and clever warpzone placement. Boil features a new music track <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=7299&amp;pid=80292#pid80292">&ldquo;Go Get &lsquo;Em&rdquo;</a> by <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=7722">TheAudioMonkey</a>, while Erbium features the new track <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=5766">&ldquo;Nanite&rdquo;</a> by <a href="https://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3351">Archer</a>. In addition, fan-favorite map Darkzone has received some visual and structural updates.<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/erbium.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/erbium_t.jpg" title="Erbium" class="right th m10"></a></p>
<p>When playing a match with a lot of players, did you ever want to know who was spectating you? Your curiosity can now be satisfied with a new feature that lists who&rsquo;s watching your gameplay. Don&rsquo;t get nervous - &ldquo;It&rsquo;s only game&rdquo; after all! You can control this setting with the &ldquo;cl_showspectators&rdquo; cvar in your client and the &ldquo;sv_showspectators&rdquo; cvar on the server. By default it is disabled on the client and enabled on the server.</p>
<p>Vehicles now have properly colorized crosshairs, and you can now spectate players who are driving vehicles (practically impossible before). Using your &ldquo;dropweapon&rdquo; keybindings (backspace and G by default) will toggle the third-person view. These spectator view mode toggles are also available for all other game modes.<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/geoplanetary.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/geoplanetary_t.jpg" title="Geoplanetary by MintOX" class="right th m10"></a></p>
<p>The radar has some new functionality when playing onslaught mode. Players can teleport between control points by pressing the &ldquo;Use keybinding&rdquo; near one (F by default), and can even spawn at control points by clicking them.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/minigame_pong.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/minigame_pong_t.jpg" title="The pong minigame" class="left th m10"></a>If you&rsquo;ve ever been waiting your turn in a duel league server, you know how the feeling of inaction can lead to frustration. You envision yourself making those flick shots and amazing frags, but it&rsquo;s still seven minutes before your chance to play! Fear not, for there is a new minigame system to occupy your time while you wait. Introduced by <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=4709">Melanosuchus</a>, this system will bring up fun games for you to play with other spectators. There&rsquo;s pong, tic-tac-toe, connect four, and many more! Access the minigame system via the F9 keybinding.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/damagetext.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/damagetext_t.jpg" title="Damage Text config panel" class="right th m10"></a>You can now see how much health points your shots deal with damage indicators. After connecting with a shot, you&rsquo;ll see yellow numerical text representing how much damage you dealt. Paired with the pitch-enabled hitsounds introduced in 0.8.1, you now have two methods - visual and auditory - to help you assess how much havoc you wreak. As you&rsquo;d expect, these things are easily configurable in a new &ldquo;Damage Text&rdquo; panel in the game settings area.</p>
<p><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1258">Mario</a> created several new mutators: Rocket Minsta, Vampire Hook, and Breakable Hook! Rocket Minsta is a longstanding fan favorite that uses instagib-like rockets instead of vaporizer beams, yielding crazy splash damage and hilarity. Vampire Hook allows health stealing or giving by hooking your enemies or teammates, respectively. Breakable Hook allows hook attachments to be broken with blaster shots, dealing damage to the owner at the same time.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/itemtimers.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/itemtimers_t.jpg" title="Item Timers" class="left th m10"></a>The item timing panel introduced in the last release is now enabled by default in warmup mode and for spectators. As mentioned before, this feature allows commentators (like yours truly) and spectators to anticipate the action coming as players jockey for position and control. It&rsquo;s also useful for newcomers who want to learn the basics of item timing and how they can work that into the flow of their game. In similar fashion to the panel, you can now use the %t and %T message formatters in chat messages to relay to your team (or to everyone, should you choose) when you took an item! The &ldquo;%T&rdquo; in the message will be replaced with the time elapsed in the match thus far, while the &ldquo;%t&rdquo; in the message will be replaced with the time remaining.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/grenadelauncher.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/grenadelauncher_t.jpg" title="Grenade Launcher by Morphed" class="right th m10"></a><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=8">Morphed</a> has been hard at work making new weapon models, and this release we reap the benefits! We have new models for the devastator, grenade launcher, hagar, rifle, fireball, and all of the overkill weapons. They look fantastic and feel polished to use. It&rsquo;s a real joy to have such a talented modeler on the team. Thanks also go to jeff for funding the creation of these models.</p>
<p>What was already top-notch netcode got even better. There&rsquo;s been a huge number of improvements to the client-side prediction code. The myriad changes mean the game became playable for those who have ever higher pings.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/hud-shake.gif"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/02/hud-shake_t.gif" title="HUD shake" class="left th m10"></a>To increase a sense of immersion in the game, the HUD can now visibly shake when you jostle around or take a large amount of damage. This is the work of terencehill, and like most of his work it is configurable to your liking. Enable or disable the feature entirely with the &ldquo;hud_dynamic_shake&rdquo; cvar, control the damage it takes to initiate a shake with &ldquo;hud_dynamic_shake_max&rdquo; and min cvars, and change the scaling or intensity of the shake with the &ldquo;hud_dynamic_shake_scale&rdquo; cvar. All of these effects coincide with the preexisting hurt effects.</p>
<p>After having several discussions with the advanced dueling community, a &ldquo;grace period&rdquo; was introduced to the spawn time. This allows recently fragged players to delay their spawns up to a maximum limit in order to avoid spawn frags. It has proven to be a very effective deterrent for that purpose, especially on maps like Aerowalk and Stormkeep. Server administrators can control the length of this grace period with the &ldquo;g_respawn_delay_max&rdquo; cvar.</p>
<p><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1258">Mario</a> created a new bonus grenade type called &ldquo;Entrap&rdquo;. Once deployed, this grenade will create a &ldquo;slowdown&rdquo; field around your enemies, which gives you the edge in firefights.</p>
<p>Map downloads are now done in parallel, letting you get into the action faster than ever! The download rate limit has also been increased.</p>
<p>The UI theme has received even more updates by the masterful <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=46">sev</a>. What was beautiful before is now even more stunning. Hooray!</p>
<p>The scoreboard is now a HUD panel, allowing you to greatly configure its size, position, and appearance. Spectators are also shown as a wrapped list at the bottom, preventing them from trailing off the screen during large games like they did in the past.</p>
<p>As usual, none of these features would be possible without such a vibrant and helpful community. Thank you all for your contributions and participation! Go forth and have fun - happy fragging!</p>
2016 By The Numbershttp://xonotic.org/posts/2017/2016-by-the-numbers/
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 21:55:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2017/2016-by-the-numbers/<p>With 2016 in the bag, I thought it would be fun to explore all the data
that was recorded in the Xonotic world during the calendar year. For this I
turned to XonStat&rsquo;s underlying database <a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonstatdb">XonStatDB</a>. Armed with the <a href="http://pandas.pydata.org/">Pandas</a> and <a href="http://matplotlib.org/">Matplotlib</a>
libraries for Python, some interesting visuals appeared!</p>
<p>First up, let&rsquo;s look at the number of games throughout the year:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_games_per_month.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_games_per_month.png" title="2016 Games Per Month" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>It&rsquo;s interesting to see that the winter months hold the most amount of games! I
wonder if this is because of the large amount of time off that folks get over the holidays.
With new gifts of computers all around the world, what better way to test it out
than with a few adrenaline-boosting games of Xon! Also worth noting is the solid
representation of the three biggest game modes: capture the flag (CTF), deathmatch (DM), and duel.
Although I didn&rsquo;t break this chart down by the mods in play (e.g. insta), it is still
good to know that we have reasonable variety.</p>
<p>Next, a question that I&rsquo;ve always wanted to answer: what time of day and what day of the week is
best for getting a game? A heatmap of the games played will help us answer that. Behold:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_hours_heatmap.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_hours_heatmap.png" title="2016 Hours Heatmap" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>It comes as no surprise, but the evening hours are the best times to play games. That&rsquo;s when
just about everyone is off work or out of school. Your best chance is on Fridays at 8PM UTC.
Note that these times are in UTC, so adjust to your time zone accordingly. I&rsquo;d recommend
<a href="http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/">World Time Buddy</a> for keeping track.</p>
<p>Looking at the number of games is one thing, but what about the players who create
those numbers? This next chart looks at the number of distinct players per month.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_players_per_month.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_players_per_month.png" title="2016 Players Per Month" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>I&rsquo;m not sure what to extrapolate from this one, but it comforts me to know that we don&rsquo;t
have any dramatic spikes in either direction. Instead we have a steady stream of players, with slight
surges in the spring and winter months.</p>
<p>Next up we deal with weapons. Having all that weapon data sitting around in the database, I had to see
what it looked like when plotted out! Were there any trends? Was any weapon predominant? Let&rsquo;s have a look
at the weapons data by damage dealt first.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_weapon_damage_per_month.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_weapon_damage_per_month.png" title="2016 Weapon Damage Per Month" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>I am rather surprised to see representation from all the various weapons in here (including some non-standard ones
too, from modified servers). I was expecting larger blocks for the &ldquo;core duel&rdquo; weapons that we talk about in IRC
often: mortar, devastator, and vortex. It&rsquo;s good to know that people are getting usage out of all of them. Aside from
the large block of blaster activity in May, things look - dare I say - balanced! Oops, that&rsquo;s a trigger word. I&rsquo;ll
shut up with that one right now.</p>
<p>The number of frags dealt by all that damage is another lens through which we can look at weapon data. Here&rsquo;s what
that looks like:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_weapon_frags_per_month.png">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2017/01/2016_weapon_frags_per_month.png" title="2016 Weapon Frags Per Month" class="th m10">
</a></p>
<p>Similar to the per-damage one above, this one also has a somewhat-even distribution. It&rsquo;s slightly weighted
towards some of the duel weapons I mentioned above with the exception of the crylink. Also, from this
visualization it seems like people aren&rsquo;t quite as comfortable finishing their victims with the electro or
the hagar.</p>
<p>This concludes my data-tour of 2016. As it turns out, formulating these visualizations using new libraries
takes a lot of time. While I could
have opted to use something more familiar (like <a href="http://nvd3.org/">NVD3</a>, which is used in stats), I enjoyed learning something
new. I hope you&rsquo;ve enjoyed the tour and all of the wonderful numbers and metrics it provided. I&rsquo;ve placed the code
that generated these charts on <a href="https://github.com/antzucaro/xonotic-by-the-numbers">Github</a> if you&rsquo;re the coding type. If you&rsquo;re not, I&rsquo;ll see you out on the servers instead - we have 2017&rsquo;s numbers to take care of!</p>
Pickuphttp://xonotic.org/pickup/
Sun, 11 Dec 2016 08:30:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/pickup/<div class="row">
<div class="small-12 large-12 columns">
<h4>Join Community Games</h4>
<p>Xonotic uses an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel to coordinate games
between players and teams. To join or request a game, register yourself with
the pickup bot that sits in the channel using the commands below.</p>
</div>
<p></div></p>
<div class="row">
<div class="small-12 columns">
<iframe src="https://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=xonotic.pickup&uio=MTY9dHJ1ZSY5PXRydWUmMTA9dHJ1ZSYxMT0yNTYd4" width="100%" height="600"></iframe>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row">
<div class="small-12 large-12 columns">
<h4>Common Commands</h4>
<ul>
<li><b>!pickups</b> - Lists all available gametypes for pickup, e.g. tdm, 3v3ca, 5v5ctf and so on.</li>
<li><b>!who</b> - Show players who have added up for pickup games.</li>
<li><b>!add [game(s)]</b> - Add up for a pickup game, i.e. announce that you're wanting to play a pickup game soon. You have to specify a game to add up to, e.g. tdm, 3v3ca, 5v5ctf, duel and so on.</li>
<li><b>!remove [game(s)]</b> - Remove yourself from a pickup game. If no arguments are provided, this command removes you from all games you have added up to.</li>
<li><b>!renew</b> - Renew your pickup games. You're required to renew your add-up within some time interval (currently one hour), to keep people from essentially leaving the channel (afk'ing) and not being available once a pickup game starts.</li>
<li><b>!promote [game(s)]</b> - Show a public message promoting the given pickup game. This feature is supposed to gather enough players to start a pickup game, e.g. if just one or two players are missing.</li>
<li><b>!register <xonstat-id></b> - Register your IRC nick with the given XonStat account. The id is the number you see in the URL of your XonStat profile. A public message will be displayed if you successfully register.</li>
<li><b>!info <nick></b> - Show XonStat info about some registered player. This command uses an IRC nick to look up the XonStat info.</li>
<li><b>!listplayers</b> - List all users that have registered so far.</li>
<li><b>!whois <xonstat-id></b> - Show all IRC users that have registered to the given XonStat account (remember that more than one user can register to the same account).</li>
</ul>
<p>You can read more information about the pickup bot interface <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1877&pid=54261#pid54261" title="Xonotic Pickup Bot Forum Thread">here</a>.</p>
</div>
</div>
Chathttp://xonotic.org/chat/
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 07:30:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/chat/<div class="small-12 large-4 columns">
<h4>IRC Crashcourse</h4>
<p>Xonotic's IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel is dedicated to discussing
news and sharing information about the game.
</p>
<p>Most people are logged-in the whole day but only check it once every
couple hours. We'll gladly answer your questions but remember, it can take
minutes or hours depending on the time of day and your question.
</p>
<p>While you wait, here are some
<a href="https://github.com/fizerkhan/irc-etiquette#irc-etiquette-by-christoph-haas">tips</a>
for getting the most out of your visit, especially
<a href="https://github.com/fizerkhan/irc-etiquette#give-others-a-chance-to-answer">this</a>
one.</p>
</div>
<div class="small-12 large-8 columns">
<iframe src="https://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=xonotic&uio=MTY9dHJ1ZSY5PXRydWUmMTA9dHJ1ZSYxMT0yNTYd4" width="647" height="600"></iframe>
</div>
World Cup Interview - Smilecythehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-25-smilecythe-wc-interview/
Fri, 25 Mar 2016 18:16:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-25-smilecythe-wc-interview/<p>Onwards with the interviews! This time I&rsquo;m talking with Smilecythe, the current top dueler in the world. We talk a little about everything, including his affinity for finding Waldo (or is that Waldi? Who knows!). I must apologize for the curt finish of this one, as Smile&rsquo;s mic went to Whackity Wicktown and didn&rsquo;t want to come back. Listen to the chat <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2016/03/smilecythe_worldcup_interview.mp3">here</a> or download the file directly by saving the link. Enjoy, and happy fragging!</p>
World Cup Interview - Islinnhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-23-islinn-wc-interview/
Wed, 23 Mar 2016 07:47:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-23-islinn-wc-interview/<p>Let the interviews continue! This time around I&rsquo;m talking with Islinn, formerly known as Asgar. We talk about his entry into the dueling world and the different ways that he&rsquo;s improved over time. We also discuss some high level tactics for the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=6045&amp;pid=75499#pid75499">upcoming world cup</a>. Listen to us chat away <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2016/03/islinn_worldcup_interview.mp3">here</a> or download the file directly by saving the link. Enjoy, and happy fragging!</p>
World Cup Interview - kojnhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-11-kojn-wc-interview/
Fri, 11 Mar 2016 15:11:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-11-kojn-wc-interview/<p>These interviews seem to be pretty popular, so let&rsquo;s continue the tide with some more! The interview this time is kojn, who opens up to me about his duel strategies and his preparation for the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=6045&amp;pid=75499#pid75499">upcoming world cup</a>. Listen to us chat away <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2016/03/kojn_worldcup_interview.mp3">here</a> or download the file directly by saving the link. Until next time&hellip;happy fragging!</p>
World Cup Interview - SPLAThttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-09-splat-wc-interview/
Wed, 09 Mar 2016 20:42:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-09-splat-wc-interview/<p>What&rsquo;s that, you say? You wanted more interviews? Well, I suppose I can oblige! Here&rsquo;s the latest and greatest: a conversation with North American dueler SPLAT. Like last time, we discuss the state of Xonotic and the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=6045&amp;pid=75499#pid75499">upcoming world cup</a>. Listen to us waxing philosophical <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2016/03/splat_worldcup_interview.mp3">here</a> or download the file directly by saving the link. Cheers!</p>
World Cup Interview - Miriohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-07-mirio-wc-interview/
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 19:44:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-03-07-mirio-wc-interview/<p>This blog post is going to be rather short and sweet, but thankfully it is for
a reason! I recently sat down to talk with Mirio about a bunch of things regarding the
state of Xonotic and the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=6045&amp;pid=75499#pid75499">upcoming world cup</a> (note: there is still time to sign up or donate!). Fortunately I hit the &ldquo;record&rdquo; button so you can download our conversation <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2016/03/mirio_worldcup_interview.mp3">here</a> or listen to it online. Enjoy!</p>
That Pesky Armor on Hubhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-02-10-that-pesky-armor-on-hub/
Wed, 10 Feb 2016 21:05:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2016/2016-02-10-that-pesky-armor-on-hub/<p>If you&rsquo;ve played Aerowalk (hub), you <em>know</em> the mega-armor jump, and chances
are you&rsquo;ve been frustrated by it! Expert hub player <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1506">Smilecythe</a> is here to help.
He recently shared the following video of all the different ways to get
to that pesky armor:</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-SMJx1OIDgk"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>Simply amazing. Well done and thank you, Smiley!</p>
Xonotic 0.8.1 Video Overviewhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-08-21-xonotic-0-8-1-video-overview/
Fri, 28 Aug 2015 12:51:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-08-21-xonotic-0-8-1-video-overview/<p>For those of you wanting to see a video of some choice features in the 0.8.1 release, I present to you this overview:</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_thowri7mmE"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>Some things are just better seen than read. I hope you enjoy seeing this one!</p>
Xonotic 0.8.1 Releasehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/xonotic-0-8-1-release/
Wed, 26 Aug 2015 19:55:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/xonotic-0-8-1-release/
<p>Team Xonotic is proud to announce the latest release of your favorite free and fast arena shooter: Xonotic 0.8.1 is available today! It has been quite a while since our last release, but the development team has been working feverishly behind the scenes. We have an entirely new menu theme, new gameplay features, and three new maps to show you. Thanks to everyone in the community who helped make this release possible!</p>
<h4 id="download-information">Download information:</h4>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.1.zip.torrent">Download via torrent</a><br />
<a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.1.zip">Download via HTTP</a><br />
MD5: f7a9cd8ab68a00336acca164f983b569<br />
Package size: 940M</p>
<p>Already have Xonotic on your machine? There&rsquo;s no need to download the game again to get into the action. Use the following steps to upgrade your client to the 0.8.1 release:</p>
<ol>
<li>Navigate to your Xonotic installation folder</li>
<li>Navigate to the misc/tools/rsync-updater folder</li>
<li>Execute the update-to-release.sh (for Linux or Mac) or update-to-release.bat (for Windows) and wait for it to complete</li>
<li>Profit. You&rsquo;re done!</li>
</ol>
<h4 id="feature-highlights">Feature Highlights</h4>
<p>Here are some feature highlights from this release:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_atelier.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_atelier_t.jpg" title="Atelier" class="left th m10"></a>The first of the new maps is Atelier, by ShadoW. It&rsquo;s been a TDM favorite for a long time, but only recently did we tidy it up for actual inclusion in the game. Sporting ample room for movement and an always-tantalizing quad spawn, this one is great for 3v3 or more.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_final_rage.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_final_rage_t.jpg" title="Final Rage" class="right th m10"></a>The second of our new maps is a resurrected classic from the days of old: Final Rage! Heavily modified by LO and proraide, the map is sporting an entirely new look. This version of final rage is sure to witness more frags. Be wary of the warpzone on the bottom floor, though - sneaky rockets abound! This map is great for duels.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_warfare.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_warfare_t.jpg" title="Warfare" class="left th m10"></a>The last of our new maps is another blast from the past: Warfare! Maddin has added an entirely new atmospheric feel to it along with numerous other niceties. His attention to detail is immediately apparent. This map is another good one for duels. Be careful not to get caught in the trap near the mega health!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_luma.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_luma_t.jpg" title="Luma" class="right th m10"></a>We have an entirely new menu theme - Luma - courtesy of sev. Emphasizing strong lines and crisp visual clarity, it gives the game even more UI polish. In addition to Luma, sev has also graciously updated the Xolonium font to better comply with standards and also designed a new crosshair set.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_itemstime.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_itemstime_t.jpg" title="Items timing in the HUD" class="left th m10"></a>Developer terencehill wanted to provide opportunities for players to improve their gameplay, so he introduced mega-item timers for the HUD in this release. With these enabled in the HUD players can see when the next mega item (100 health or 100 armor, to name two) is spawning next. This is great for beginners and casters alike.</p>
<p>Our wily core developer Mario was busy working on CTF and thought to himself &ldquo;why stop at two flags?&rdquo;. Before we even knew what was happening he introduced three and even four flag CTF! Crazy, I tell you. Crazy fun, that is. For the sake of completeness he also implemented a one-flag CTF mode which was inspired by some Quake 3 mods. As if this weren&rsquo;t enough, Mario also turned his attention to the buff subsystem. This release features three all-new buffs: Inferno, Magnet, and Swapper. The buff system also received some balancing attention after community feedback. Buffs now have time limits and some of them have compensating disabilities to balance out your new powers.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_voting.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/08/8point1_voting_t.jpg" title="Voting the next game mode at match end" class="right th m10"></a>Melanosuchus provides us another friendly feature. At the end of matches, server administrators can now choose to let their players visually decide which game mode they&rsquo;d like to play next! This is a huge win for usability, as before this was only available to those who knew how to use the command-line voting syntax. Hooray for ease-of-use!</p>
<p>Last but not least, the entire team would like to thank TimePath for his efforts at refactoring the codebase. The code is becoming a much friendlier place due to him. Thank you sir!</p>
<p>Once again, the team would like to express their thanks to the community. Without you all, none of this would be possible. We&rsquo;ll see you out on the servers. Happy fragging!</p>
Duel mapping contest 2015 resultshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-08-19-duel-mapping-contest-results/
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 07:13:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-08-19-duel-mapping-contest-results/<p>The <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=5450&amp;pid=71748#pid71748">2015 duel mapping contest</a> has come to a close, and as a result Xonotic has
six new and wonderful maps! Congratulations are in order for Justin, who took home first
prize with his entry Erbium. He will receive 100 EUR and a SteelSeries keyboard
for his efforts.</p>
<p>Here&rsquo;s the full lineup of entries:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.devfull.de/packages/erbium-r1_smallest.pk3">Erbium</a> by Justin</li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.devfull.de/packages/cucumber_v1.pk3">Cucumber</a> by SpiKe</li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.devfull.de/packages/luminar.pk3">Luminar</a> by Debugger</li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.devfull.de/packages/styrofoam.pk3">Styrofoam</a> by proraide</li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.devfull.de/packages/curvature_02.pk3">Curvature</a> by Freddy</li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.devfull.de/packages/clockwork_v001.pk3">Clockwork</a> by Melanosuchus</li>
</ol>
<p>I also took the liberty to load all of these maps up on my local machine to create a
video walkthrough for each of these creations. You can view the
result below. Enjoy!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WObIezH0naE"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>I&rsquo;d like to thank all of the participants for their energy, enthusiasm,
and creativity. This community never ceases to amaze me!</p>
Duel mapping contest 2015http://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-05-01-duel-mapping-contest/
Fri, 01 May 2015 07:00:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-05-01-duel-mapping-contest/<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/05/duel_mapping_contest.png" title="">
<img alt="" title="" src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/05/duel_mapping_contest.png">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'></p>
</div>
<p>I am excited to announce the start of this year&rsquo;s duel mapping contest! Maps
are a huge aspect of Xonotic, so the more we have the merrier. Several gracious
community members have already contributed funds which will form the prize
money for the top-ranked maps. Donations are still open, so please consider
donating to the cause! You can find out more about the mechanics of the contest in the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=5450&amp;pid=71748#pid71748">official forum
thread</a>.</p>
<p>I can&rsquo;t wait to see what kind of creative things come out of this. I&rsquo;d also
like to send a &ldquo;hi / good luck &amp; have fun&rdquo; to all the participants. My trigger
finger is getting itchy just thinking about it!</p>
Command and cvar search toolhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-04-04-command-and-cvar-search/
Sat, 04 Apr 2015 17:30:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-04-04-command-and-cvar-search/<p><em>Link for the impatient: <a href="http://xonotic.org/tools/cacs">xonotic.org/tools/cacs</a></em></p>
<p>Back in the days of Nexuiz, finding cmds and cvars was difficult. We had a wiki with a limited list, that didn&rsquo;t always keep up with the ever-changing game. Thanks to handy tip from a fellow player, I learned I could use &ldquo;cmdlist&rdquo; and &ldquo;cvarlist&rdquo; to dump them all to console. Combined with &ldquo;log_file&rdquo;, I was able to get an exhaustive list of every command and cvar in the game&hellip; which is a lot.</p>
<p>Rather than search through those text files, I opted to build a tool to do that for me (and anyone else interested), this led to the first iteration of what is now referred to as &ldquo;CACS&rdquo; (Command and cvar search). Soon after, divVerent was kind enough to build a similar tool into the menu system (shown below).</p>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/04/advanced_settings.jpg" title="The Xonotic advanced settings panel">
<img alt="The Xonotic advanced settings panel" title="The Xonotic advanced settings panel" src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/04/advanced_settings.jpg">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>The Xonotic advanced settings panel</p>
</div>
<p>While this serves many needs and will never be out-of-date, sometimes it&rsquo;s easier to search for cvars outside of the game. This is why I decided to rewrite the tool from scratch to it make easier to maintain and integrate into other projects.</p>
<p>Today I&rsquo;d like to announce integrating the tool into xonotic.org under an emerging section of the website, &ldquo;tools&rdquo;.</p>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/04/web_cvars.jpg" title="The new CACS tool">
<img alt="The new CACS tool" title="The new CACS tool" src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/04/web_cvars.jpg">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>The new CACS tool</p>
</div>
<p>You can visit the tool at <a href="http://xonotic.org/tools/cacs">xonotic.org/tools/cacs</a>.</p>
<p>An isolated version of the tool and source code with multigame support is available on <a href="https://github.com/z/cacs">GitHub</a>.</p>
<p>Comments and suggestions are welcome in the discussion thread <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=5429">here</a>. Enjoy!</p>
Xonotic.org gets a facelifthttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-02-01-xonotic-org-gets-a-facelift/
Sun, 01 Feb 2015 09:30:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/2015-02-01-xonotic-org-gets-a-facelift/<p>I&rsquo;m really excited to unveil the new design of Xonotic.org today! While our previous site served us well for years, it was becoming a chore to keep it up to date and responsive. The version you are currently browsing is statically generated, greatly simplifying a number of things about its management. I have attempted to make it visually beautiful while keeping it functional and open at the same time. You can check the full source right now on <a href="https://github.com/antzucaro/rethink">GitHub</a>. I&rsquo;ll be sharing more information about how to collaborate on the new site soon. I hope you all enjoy!</p>
<p>Join the discussion about the redesign <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=5334&amp;pid=70652#pid70652">here</a>.</p>
Xonotic 0.8 Releasehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/xonotic-0-8-release/
Fri, 16 Jan 2015 01:41:28 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2015/xonotic-0-8-release/
<p>Today we are very excited to give you the next iteration of Xonotic, the free and fast arena shooter. Yep, you guessed it: Xonotic 0.8.0 is out! This version is the culmination of months of effort from many individuals from across the globe. It contains improvements in just about all visible aspects of the game and onto the web. There are new menu screens, gameplay features, and a much-anticipated new weapon: the Arc! We&rsquo;re excited for the what the future holds, and we hope to see you out on the servers soon. Happy fragging!</p>
<h4 id="download-information">Download information:</h4>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.0.zip.torrent">Download via torrent</a><br />
<a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.0.zip">Download via HTTP</a><br />
MD5: bc368e116a2502362e1d4f07d8f8efab<br />
Package size: 953MB</p>
<p>Already have Xonotic on your machine? There&rsquo;s no need to download the game again to get into the action. Use the following steps to upgrade your client to the 0.8.0 release:</p>
<ol>
<li>Navigate to your Xonotic installation folder</li>
<li>Navigate to the misc/tools/rsync-updater folder</li>
<li>Execute the update-to-release.sh (for Linux or Mac) or update-to-release.bat (for Windows) and wait for it to complete</li>
<li>Profit. You&rsquo;re done!</li>
</ol>
<h4 id="feature-highlights">Feature Highlights</h4>
<p>Here are some features to get you excited while you wait:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/point8_new_maps.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/point8_new_maps-th.jpg" title="Catharsis, Implosion, and Vorix" class="left th m10"></a>We have three new maps for the &ldquo;Capture The Flag&rdquo; game mode. Catharsis, by Justin, is an indoor map with a central, violent focal point. Plus, it has crystals! Implosion, by MintOX, is a space floater with fantastic jump pads for a lot of midair fun. It also has a perilous lower infrastructure for you risky cappers out there. Vorix, by packer, is an open-air indoor arena with beautifully designed corridors. Watch out for its lava pits though!</p>
<p>Archer has been hard at work making immersive sounds for the game. His latest track is called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj93VJlnqRo">X-Force</a>, which can be found on Implosion. Nice!</p>
<p>Melanosuchus created a wonderful way to add variety to your server: a game type vote screen! This feature allows server administrators to allow their players to choose the game mode used in the next map. It is shown before the map vote screen.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/stats_menu_integration.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/stats_menu_integration-th.jpg" title="Stats menu integration" class="th right m10"></a>The menu system went through some major updates. It now sports a tiered server browser that categorizes the available servers so you can choose the right one for you. Player statistics are also integrated. Accessible via the &ldquo;profile&rdquo; tab, you can now view your most vital statistics from XonStat without having to open a web browser. Lots of other menu options have moved to the forefront as well. All of these changes are to help you configure Xonotic to your taste easily.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/SDL_logo.png" title="SDLv2" class="left m10">All of our builds have switched to using the latest-and-greatest major version of the SDL: version 2.0. This version brings with it several performance improvements and a ton of <a href="http://wiki.libsdl.org/MigrationGuide#Overview_of_new_features">new capabilities</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/arc.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/arc-th.jpg" title="The Arc!" class="th right m10"></a>A brand new weapon concept: the Arc! Similar to lightning guns in other games, the Arc is a hitscan weapon with medium range. It shoots a bendable beam of electricity as its primary fire and has a burst mode as its secondary fire. It has a limited capacity and thus overheats after too much constant use, so administer your damage with care! The Arc is available to server administrators who choose to enable it. It will take its place as a Xonotic core weapon in the next release.</p>
<p>The physics and weapon balance have both been tweaked after a long round of feedback from the community. Many settings were taken from sessions on the &ldquo;Reversion cup&rdquo; servers, and a great many of games were had in the process! The weapon balance is the first step in a large re-tooling of the weapon system. Look for more updates coming soon.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/monsters.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/monsters-th.jpg" title="Monsters" class="th left m10"></a>This release introduces monsters! We have five different types of monsters for you to frag: Zombie, Wyvern, Mage, Spider and Shambler. Mario created a new game mode called &ldquo;Invasion&rdquo; that uses these monsters. In this mode the player must fight off a swarm of the aforementioned monsters within a small arena to win.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/speed_buff.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2015/01/speed_buff-th.jpg" title="Buffs" class="th right m10"></a>New powerup-like items called <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=5246&amp;pid=70205#pid70205">buffs</a> can now spawn on maps if enabled. They can replace the existing powerups or spawn in random locations. Buffs give players special powers when picked up, and they last until the player is fragged. Adding these to servers is sure to turn up thier craziness level to 11!</p>
<p>Join the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=5248&amp;pid=70246#pid70246">discussion</a> about Xonotic 0.8.</p>
A Sneak Peek of Xonotic 0.8http://xonotic.org/posts/2014/a-sneak-peek-of-xonotic-0-8/
Wed, 24 Dec 2014 15:07:06 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2014/a-sneak-peek-of-xonotic-0-8/<p>As I mentioned in my last post, I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with the folks from Jupiter Broadcasting about some of the features in our upcoming Xonotic 0.8 release. While talking about it is fun, it really doesn&rsquo;t give the full perspective of actually seeing these things in action. I took some time the other day to do just that in the following video:</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/anhGh9sUbqI"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>This video covers some of the major new things in 0.8. I hope you enjoy it!</p>
<p>A big thank you goes to Archer, who made the intro music to this video. Thanks!</p>
Capturing Your Favorite Xonotic Momentshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2014/capturing-your-favorite-xonotic-moments/
Thu, 26 Jun 2014 23:14:58 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2014/capturing-your-favorite-xonotic-moments/
<p>Over the past few days I&rsquo;ve been experimenting with custom screenshot binds and demo recording to make capturing and sharing my favorite Xonotic moments as seamless as possible. The issue I am trying to solve is one you&rsquo;ve likely encountered if you&rsquo;ve been playing for a while: having figured out how to record snippets of your demos (<code>cl_capturevideo 1/0</code>), what&rsquo;s the best way to keep track of when to hit the record button? Even more troubling, what video recording settings yield a good space and encoding time to quality balance? I believe I&rsquo;ve found simple ways to achieve both of these things. Read on for the details.</p>
<!-- more -->
<h3 id="the-core-problem">The Core Problem</h3>
<p>For the sake of this discussion, let&rsquo;s assume the scenario is that I want to capture frags to make a &ldquo;highlight reel&rdquo; video that I could then share with my friends. The problem is that I have a bunch of demos sitting on my hard drive along with a hand-tabulated list of times in which my highlight-worthy frags happened. Pairing these two together is a highly manual (read: annoying) process - I have to bring up Xonotic and fast forward through the demos until the alotted time so I can capture only the pieces of interest and nothing else. While it is great to watch all of these demos and reminisce about the fun times I&rsquo;ve had, I&rsquo;d rather be back out on the servers <em>making</em> more memories!</p>
<h3 id="the-setup">The Setup</h3>
<p>There are two things that can ease the process. The first involves tuning the default recording profile that comes with Xonotic. While the out-of-the-box settings are sufficient for viewing what you&rsquo;ve done in game, they are far from the production quality that we want to put up on YouTube. What we want is something that saves us disk space, encodes quickly, but all the while looks superb. Fortunately a few simple cvar changes can make that happen. Enter the following in your config.cfg (in ~/.xonotic/data/ on Linux, $YOUR_USER/Saved Games/xonotic/data on Windows):</p>
<pre><code>cl_capturevideo_fps 60
cl_capturevideo_ogg 1
cl_capturevideo_ogg_theora_quality 63
cl_capturevideo_ogg_theora_bitrate -1
cl_capturevideo_ogg_theora_keyframe_bitrate_multiplier 2
cl_capturevideo_ogg_theora_keyframe_maxinterval 500
cl_capturevideo_ogg_theora_keyframe_mininterval 1
cl_capturevideo_ogg_theora_keyframe_auto_threshold 80
cl_capturevideo_ogg_theora_noise_sensitivity 0
cl_capturevideo_ogg_vorbis_quality 10
</code></pre>
<p>These changes essentially max out the builtin ogg-theora settings that ship with Xonotic. I&rsquo;ve found they produce a great balance of quality and speed.</p>
<p>The second piece of the puzzle is an easier way to connect the timestamp values of highlight-quality frags with the demos in which they happened. One way to do this is to take a screenshot right after you make such frags during games. This has the advantage that Xonotic provides the bind for taking the screenshot (F12) out of the box, so you simply hit a key after you have a highlight frag to record the moment. The problem with this is that you have to manually cross-reference the screenshot&rsquo;s filename with your demo filenames to figure out when and where you need to hit the record button. This is messy and error-prone. What we&rsquo;d really like is a screenshot name that contains the map name and the wall-clock timestamp when it was created. It would be even better if we could also capture the in-game timestamp of when the frag occurred for precise timing (since in-game clocks don&rsquo;t tally the time spent in warmup mode). Finding the right demo and time then becomes a breeze with this information at our disposal.</p>
<p>Fortunately there&rsquo;s a simple bind script that can easily get us this information. Place the following into your config.cfg:</p>
<pre><code>alias topfrag_ts &quot;prvm_globalget client time _thetime&quot;
alias topfrag_cmd &quot;scr_screenshot_name \&quot;topfrags/${cl_worldbasename}-${_thetime}-\&quot;; wait; screenshot; wait; scr_screenshot_name \&quot;$scr_screenshot_name\&quot;&quot;
alias topfrag_ss &quot;topfrag_ts; topfrag_cmd;&quot;
bind BACKSPACE &quot;topfrag_ss&quot;
</code></pre>
<p>What this does is set up a special screenshot command that binds to the backspace button. When you hit backspace in-game, a jpg file will be created in your Xonotic &ldquo;screenshots/topfrags&rdquo; directory with a file name that contains the map name, the wall clock time, and the in-game timestamp. Easy! It is now dead simple to cross reference your highlight frags with the demos you made them in. The remaining piece is just for you to record them using the times provided.</p>
<h3 id="recording">Recording</h3>
<p>At this point you have a command that sends specially-formatted screenshots into a directory. Having collected a bunch of these screenshots, you now probably want to record the sweet, sweet frags they represent for posterity&rsquo;s sake! Fortunately, this is the relatively easy part. The first step involves mapping the screenshots to their respective demo files. While you can eyeball the screenshot to demo relationship manually, I prefer using <a href="https://github.com/antzucaro/ScreenshotToQueue">a simple Java application</a> to do the mapping for me. If you choose to use this, make sure to follow the build and configuration instructions in the README. Note: this step was previously a Python script which is now deprecated.</p>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/screenshot_mapping.png" title="Output of the screenshot mapping script.">
<img alt="Output of the screenshot mapping script." title="Output of the screenshot mapping script." src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/screenshot_mapping.png">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>Output of the screenshot mapping script.</p>
</div>
<p>The last piece to the recording process is telling Xonotic to render our demos into playable videos. This is done most efficiently with <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1447">Xonotic Demo Recorder by GreEn`mArine</a>. For the rest of this post, I&rsquo;ll illustrate this process.</p>
<p>First you bring up the demo recorder with <code>java -jar NexuizDemoRecorder-0.3.jar</code> from your console of choice.</p>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/demo_recorder_main_screen.png" title="The demo recorder&#39;s main screen">
<img alt="The demo recorder&#39;s main screen" title="The demo recorder&#39;s main screen" src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/demo_recorder_main_screen.png">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>The demo recorder&#39;s main screen</p>
</div>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/demo_recorder_template_screen.png" title="The demo recorder&#39;s template screen">
<img alt="The demo recorder&#39;s template screen" title="The demo recorder&#39;s template screen" src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/demo_recorder_template_screen.png">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>The demo recorder&#39;s template screen</p>
</div>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/demo_recorder_job_screen.png" title="The demo recorder&#39;s job screen">
<img alt="The demo recorder&#39;s job screen" title="The demo recorder&#39;s job screen" src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/demo_recorder_job_screen.png">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>The demo recorder&#39;s job screen</p>
</div>
<p>Repeat this process of adding jobs - using the template to make your life easier - until you are done with all of the clips you wish to render.</p>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/demo_recorder_main_screen_2.png" title="The main screen after configuration">
<img alt="The main screen after configuration" title="The main screen after configuration" src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/06/demo_recorder_main_screen_2.png">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>The main screen after configuration</p>
</div>
<p>Start the render by hitting the &ldquo;start processing&rdquo; button at the bottom and you&rsquo;ll have the material for your YouTube video before you know it!</p>
Halogene's Newbie Corner - Comprehensive Tutorialhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2014/halogenes-newbie-corner-comprehensive-tutorial/
Thu, 24 Apr 2014 21:28:58 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2014/halogenes-newbie-corner-comprehensive-tutorial/<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/newbie-corner-banner2.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/newbie-corner-banner2.png" alt="newbie-corner-banner2" /></a></p>
<p>Good news everyone! I have updated, revised and combined the previous <a href="http://xonotic.org/tags/newbie">Newbie Corner blog posts</a> and generated a comprehensive Newbie Tutorial out of them. Initially I wanted to post the result here, but it turned out to be too much to be comfortably readable for a single blog post. So Samual came up with the idea to put it onto the wiki, where I can easily update it whenever needed - and so I did.</p>
<p>New features include (but are not limited to)</p>
<ul>
<li>an illustrated bunny hopping section with a step by step illustration of strafe turning,</li>
<li>showing ramp jumps on the map Glowplant, and</li>
<li>Crylink running added to crylink description!</li>
</ul>
<p>You can access the entire Tutorial <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide">here</a>. Enjoy!</p>
About Xonotic and Steamhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/about-xonotic-and-steam/
Mon, 14 Oct 2013 07:13:57 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/about-xonotic-and-steam/<p>In the past couple of months bringing Xonotic to Valve&rsquo;s digital distribution platform <a href="http://store.steampowered.com">Steam</a> was a very hot topic. We got numerous questions if we&rsquo;d like to start the <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/greenlight">Greenlight</a> procedure, and if yes, when, and why it&rsquo;s not happening right now. With this blog post, we&rsquo;d like to answer those questions, and also try to disperse the fog of doubts and half-truths and misconceptions.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Why don&rsquo;t you want to bring Xonotic to Steam?</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> This is not true. We&rsquo;d very much like to bring Xonotic to Steam. However, there are some problems that we might need to solve before that. First of all, the game is not ready for that, as we&rsquo;re still in beta stage, and the game has tons of bugs and half working features that we first would like to fix, and fully implement before introducing it to larger audiences.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Xonotic might be in beta stage, but it&rsquo;s still in better shape than a lot of &ldquo;stable&rdquo; games on Steam. Also, Greenlight accepts beta staged software.</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> First of all, just because other developers or publishers decide to release a buggy game it doesn&rsquo;t mean we have to do so too. Also, it&rsquo;s not about being beta or not. As I wrote before, we&rsquo;d like to iron out the largest wrinkles before. A rushed release on such a high profile platform could have terrible consequences on our reputation.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Is it because of the 100 USD fee that Xonotic is not introduced on Steam Greenlight yet?</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> No, it is not. Or rather, partially. 100 USD is not a big deal, we spend a lot more annually on servers for the developer infrastructure. It&rsquo;s not even the question of who&rsquo;ll pay for it (though that&rsquo;d be an interesting question too). Also, as 100% of the money we need to pay for Valve goes to <a href="http://www.childsplaycharity.org/">Child&rsquo;s Play</a>, we&rsquo;d be more than happy to pay that price anyway.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Is it because Steam doesn&rsquo;t support GPL games?</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> No, it&rsquo;s not. There are already GPL software (Blender, DosBOX) and partially free games (War§ow, Penumbra Overture, Aquaria, Gish) on Steam.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Is it because of SteamWorks implementation?</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> Now we&rsquo;re getting closer on the largest problem. Currently, there&rsquo;s no &ldquo;free&rdquo; library that Valve officially supports too for SteamWorks API. Although, Valve doesn&rsquo;t force a game to use Steamworks, but then we&rsquo;ll loose the ability to integrate Xonotic into the Steam infrastructure, track statistics, let users earn achievements etc.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Wait a minute, what about Xonstat?</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> That is another good point. There&rsquo;s just no way currently we could do two way synchronisation between Xonstat and Steamworks - extracting data from Steamworks might be possible, but injection from Xonstat is impossible. In the end we might have to choose to use Steamworks and ditch Xonstat - obviously this is totally unacceptable, it&rsquo;s out of the question.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> So is Steamworks integration totally ruled out?</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> Yes it is. Technically, we could still use an extra binary to transfer data between the Steamworks API and Xonotic, but that&rsquo;s an ugly hack which is really hard to pull off, and right now we don&rsquo;t have the manpower to do it (and most likely we&rsquo;ll never have) . Not to mention, it&rsquo;s a legally grey territory.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> What about the trolls coming from Steam?</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> It&rsquo;s not very nice to refer the userbase of Steam as trolls. There are already lots of happy and well mannered Steam users in the community and in the developer team too, so the overall generalisation is nonsense. Sure, a higher userbase could introduce the game to higher number of ill mannered players, but don&rsquo;t forget that it&rsquo;ll also draw the attention of more nice people too who haven&rsquo;t even heared about Xonotic yet.
Also, don&rsquo;t forget: Xonotic is a free game. It&rsquo;s free to use, play and enjoy for everybody, regardless of age, gender or origin.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> You still didn&rsquo;t tell when you&rsquo;ll release Xonotic on Steam.</p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> And that is not a question either ;) We can&rsquo;t even give an estimated deadline. But I can assure you, you&rsquo;ll notice when Xonotic goes to Steam.</p>
<p>I really hope we could answer all your questions about Steam and Xonotic. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to state them in the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=4538">official Xonotic forum</a>.</p>
Halogene's Newbie Corner - Part 6: Optimizing Perceptionhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-6-optimizing-perception/
Fri, 13 Sep 2013 16:44:41 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-6-optimizing-perception/<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/Halogenes-newbiecorner.png" alt="Newbie Corner Banner" /></p>
<p><em>Edit: Visit the complete and updated tutorial <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide">here</a></em></p>
<p>Welcome back to the (probably) final part of my Newbie Corner. This time, as announced in my last post, I will turn to tweaking the game appearance in order to optimize perception. The concept is easy and straight-forward: the better you can see and hear other players and their actions, the better you can react to them.</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/console.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/console.png" alt="console" /></a></p>
<p>Even though some settings are available via menu, we&rsquo;ll change most settings via console, so before I go into details let&rsquo;s have a quick look at how this awesome tool works. You can open the console by pressing <Shift> <ESC>. Now you have a command prompt where you can issue commands to query and change settings. If you already know how a command you are going to type is called, you can just type the first few letters and hit <TAB>. This will automatically complete the command. If the letters match several possible commands, it will auto-complete to the extent all potential completions match and show you all potential completions. For example, typing &ldquo;cross&rdquo; in console and hitting <TAB> will auto-complete to &ldquo;crosshair&rdquo; and show the commands like &ldquo;crosshair&rdquo;, &ldquo;crosshair_alpha&rdquo;,&hellip; If you try this you will notice the console will show you not only the possible command completions, but also more info to each possible completion: what is its current (local!) setting, what is its default setting (in square brackets) and a short description what the command does.</p>
<p>In most cases you won&rsquo;t know the exact command to type, and this is where a special command will help you: &ldquo;apropos&rdquo;. If you, for example, want to know how to do change screen resolution, you can just type &ldquo;apropos resolution&rdquo; into console, and the console will spit out all commands with description that have the string &ldquo;resolution&rdquo; in their name or in their description.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;d like to know more about the Xonotic console, check out <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2987">BlaXpirit&rsquo;s forum thread about console tips and tricks</a>.</p>
<p>Now that we know the basics about how to tweak the game, let&rsquo;s get going!</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/effects.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/effects.png" alt="effects" /></a></p>
<p>First of all be warned that if you follow this tutorial and implement all changes I suggest here your game will look pug-ugly to say the best. I myself usually play with more or less regular settings because I like to experience the great work developers, modelers and mappers have done to create decent graphics. But if you intend to play competitively, it will be to your advantage to lower the complexity of what is displayed in order to be able to fully focus on the information that is relevant for your gameplay.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/damageblur.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/damageblur.png" alt="damageblur" /></a></p>
<p>The first thing to do is to disable the damage blur. Getting hit is already bad enough, you won&rsquo;t want to punish yourself with temporary blindness additionally. This is so crucial that I even disabled this &ldquo;feature&rdquo; in the left screenshot above in the &ldquo;Visuals&rdquo; caption, otherwise you wouldn&rsquo;t have been able to see a thing there. If you haven&rsquo;t done so already, disable this by doing</p>
<pre><code>hud_damage_blur 0
</code></pre>
<p>While we&rsquo;re at it, we can also reduce the damage flash when getting hit:</p>
<pre><code>hud_damage 0.4
</code></pre>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/fov-double.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/fov-double.png" alt="fov-double" /></a></p>
<p>It obviously is crucial to see what is happening around you. To increase the area that you can see, adjust the field of view to your liking. While the default value is at 90, I personally play with a field of view of 120, and find this a quite usable setting. Remember though, that changing the field of view has an impact on your ability to aim, very similar to changing settings of your mouse sensitivity. The higher the field of view, the harder it can be to aim. I have a lousy aim anyway, so I can play with fov 120 alright. You can change the field of view in the menu or via console by:</p>
<pre><code>fov 120 (adjust to your liking)
</code></pre>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/forceplayers-double.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/forceplayers-double.png" alt="forceplayers-double" /></a></p>
<p>Most player models are really hard to spot, as they are optimized to look good and, to some extent, realistic. This means their textures are subject to the usual rendering procedures which calculate how much light from the surroundings will be reflected by the player models. Consequently, most models are hard to see in dark corners, and don&rsquo;t have a strong contrast to the background in general. There is one model though that uses &ldquo;fullbright&rdquo; textures, which are always displayed at full brightness, and this is the &ldquo;Mega Erebus&rdquo;. Now there is a way to make every other player be displayed to you as &ldquo;Mega Erebus&rdquo; even if they selected a different model, and you can do that by selecting it for your own player and forcing your own model on everyone. This can be done via menu, but here&rsquo;s the console command:</p>
<pre><code>cl_forceplayermodels 1
</code></pre>
<p>Be warned though that the sounds other players make still remain the same, so don&rsquo;t be shocked if a Mega Erebus is commenting to you in a Pinky Pie voice on servers that have ponies enabled. If you dislike other people using colors that may blend too well into the map, you can also select a particularly bright color for yourself and force it onto everyone as well:</p>
<pre><code>cl_forceplayercolors 1
</code></pre>
<p>These settings obviously have the disadvantage that you become extremely visible to everyone else, too - but it would be rather unfair if you could make everyone extremely visible while staying a grey mouse, wouldn&rsquo;t it?</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/other-effects.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/other-effects.png" alt="other-effects" /></a></p>
<p>I personally strongly dislike blood splatter and gibs flying around as a matter of taste, but disabling all the gory mess also has visual advantages beyond personal preference. The more unnecessary detail gets rendered, the harder it is to filter out the information that is actually relevant. Therefore, turning off gibs is a good way to get rid of a whole bunch of effects that only get in your way if you want to keep an overview in the heat of a fight:</p>
<pre><code>cl_gentle_gibs 1 (note that you may need to restart Xonotic or reconnect for this change to take effect)
</code></pre>
<p>But not only gibs can obscure things, also particle effects of explosions, coronas and bloom can impact on visibility:</p>
<pre><code>cl_particles_alpha 0.2 (feel free to experiment with values between 0 and 1)
cl_particles_sparks 0
cl_particles_blood 0
r_coronas 0
r_bloom 0
</code></pre>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/picmip-and-simple-items-double.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/picmip-and-simple-items-double.png" alt="picmip-and-simple-items-double" /></a></p>
<p>Now the game still looks somewhat ok-ish. Time to change this! Let&rsquo;s get rid of all those details in textures that generate contrasts where it isn&rsquo;t needed:</p>
<pre><code>gl_picmip_world 10
gl_texturecompression 1 (if you like, or need faster loading)
</code></pre>
<p>What, still looks the same? Well, then do</p>
<pre><code>vid_restart
</code></pre>
<p>and enjoy :D</p>
<p>Some people even like to replace the beautiful pickup models by twodimensional, bright sprites. I personally don&rsquo;t see a visibility benefit, but the bright symbols could be considered as easier to spot. To enable &ldquo;simple items&rdquo;, do:</p>
<pre><code>cl_simple_items 1
</code></pre>
<p>You will have to reconnect to the server (or, if you test it in a local game, type &ldquo;restart&rdquo; in console). Note that this change only works on servers that allow this setting to be used.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/crosshair.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/crosshair.png" alt="crosshair" /></a></p>
<p>The next thing is to set an always visible crosshair. Though I personally like the per-weapon crosshairs, they unfortunately are not very bright. With them, I often had the problem of identifying where that crosshair actually is in the middle of a battle. Even though I probably ended up landing quite some hits this way due to my particularly fuzzy aim which seldomly places the crosshair on the target, I decided to make the crosshair really visible, now that I deliberately chose to use the darn thing. You can very comfortably configure the crosshair via the menu or just copy my settings:</p>
<pre><code>crosshair 27 (this is really all about personal preference)
crosshair_alpha 1
crosshair_effect_scalefade 0
crosshair_effect_time 0
crosshair_enabled 2
crosshair_dot 1
crosshair_dot_color 0.24 1 0.13 (this too is all about personal preference)
crosshair_per_weapon 0
crosshair_color_per_weapon 1 (if you like to know the weapon per crosshair color)
crosshair_ring 0 (this removes the nex ring, keep it if you like to see it)
crosshair_ring_reload 1 (mg reload ring might be useful)
crosshair_ring_reload_size 1 (adjust to your liking, default is too big imho)
crosshair_size 0.28 (adjust to your liking)
</code></pre>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/fine-tuning.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/fine-tuning.png" alt="fine-tuning" /></a></p>
<p>If you have already set up weapon binds following my <a href="http://xonotic.org/tags/newbie/">previous tutorials</a> and are really confident about them, you might even choose to remove the rendered first person weapon model so it doesn&rsquo;t block your view:</p>
<pre><code>r_drawviewmodel 0
</code></pre>
<p>Now you&rsquo;ll only know what weapon you hold by remembering the bind you pressed last and by the color of the crosshair. But if you managed to get the weapon binds into your cerebellum, this is manageable - decide for yourself if you&rsquo;re ready for this.#</p>
<p>When using the zoom to improve sight in a fast paced game like Xonotic, you won&rsquo;t want the view to be impaired by some mask around the crosshair that generates the impression you look through some binoculars or something:</p>
<pre><code>cl_reticle 0
</code></pre>
<p>Also, who wants to waste time for the transition between zoom and non-zoom?</p>
<pre><code>cl_zoomspeed -1
</code></pre>
<p>Bobbing effects are generally only for conveying a &ldquo;realistic feel&rdquo; but don&rsquo;t serve a purpose that&rsquo;s important for the gameplay. Quite to the contrary, they make your view less steady. So you might want to switch off all sorts of bobbings:</p>
<pre><code>cl_bobfall 0
cl_bobmodel 0
cl_bobup 0
</code></pre>
<p>If you like to keep an eye on the action (and on who takes which items) when you get fragged, you can disable automatically showing the scoreboard when dead with:</p>
<pre><code>cl_deathscoreboard 0
</code></pre>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/audio.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/audio.png" alt="audio" /></a></p>
<p>Apart from all the visual stuff, you can of course also improve perception by adjusting the audio settings. While there is quite some remarkably good music in Xonotic, in-game music can distract you and predominate pickup or movement sounds that you might want to hear. The same goes for ambient sounds. Whereas these greatly add to the atmosphere of the game, they can prevent you from predicting where an opponent will come from, what the player&rsquo;s approximate health status is and what is being picked up. So if you can do without the atmosphere, you might want to turn those off via the menu.</p>
<hr />
<p>That&rsquo;s it for now again, thanks for reading and stay tuned, as the next project I&rsquo;ll be working on is to rework the existing parts of the Newbie Corner into a comprehensive Newbie Manual in order to keep the information up to date.</p>
Don't Stand on the Respawn!http://xonotic.org/posts/2013/dont-stand-on-the-respawn/
Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:19:11 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/dont-stand-on-the-respawn/<p>Shortly before the release of 0.7 community member <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3846">Lady*D</a> released her latest movie. It&rsquo;s called &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t Stand on the Respawn&rdquo; and it features some of our CTS community&rsquo;s fastest players.</p>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/dont_stand_on_the_respawn.png" title="Don&#39;t Stand on the Respawn">
<img alt="Don&#39;t Stand on the Respawn" title="Don&#39;t Stand on the Respawn" src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/dont_stand_on_the_respawn.png">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>Don&#39;t Stand on the Respawn</p>
</div>
<p>You can watch the video online <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6batR1fvOw">here</a> or you can download the high quality version <a href="http://178.63.89.77/redirect/XonoticRa%D1%81eMovieByLadyD-Don%27tStandOnTheRespawn.mp4">here</a>.</p>
<p>Featured in the video are the following players:</p>
<ul>
<li>Lady*D</li>
<li>Nimbuz</li>
<li>bunny</li>
<li>eThaD</li>
<li>entou_</li>
</ul>
<p>I don&rsquo;t know about you, but I think this is absolutely mesmerizing! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thank you Lady*D for creating such top-notch stuff.</p>
<p>Join the discussion of the movie <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=4188">here</a>.</p>
Xonotic 0.7 Releasehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/xonotic-0-7-release/
Sat, 08 Jun 2013 22:30:49 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/xonotic-0-7-release/
<p>We&rsquo;re very happy to announce our next official release of Xonotic! <strong>Xonotic version 0.7</strong> is a massive step forward for the project. We&rsquo;ve changed our team structure to bring in new development talent, and the result is a better platform on which to work. We&rsquo;ve also been pushing hard development-wise since the last release, refining the game into something that we can all love. We have a staggering amount of changes since 0.6 aimed at both casual and competitive gamers. We&rsquo;re very proud of what we&rsquo;ve achieved in collaboration with our active, diverse community. We hope you enjoy it too!</p>
<h3 id="download-here">Download Here</h3>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.7.0.zip.torrent">Download via torrent</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.7.0.zip">Download via HTTP</a></p>
<p>MD5: eda7e8acadbefaf4b2efcfb70bbe98e2
Package size: 993M</p>
<p>Other resources:</p>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.7.0-low.zip">Lower quality download via HTTP</a> (627M, md5: a16167f0a56303ff00fdfbc79d6e8487)</p>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.7.0-mappingsupport.zip">Map editor download via HTTP</a> (166M, md5: 1ee3939f3bd84281d2609cf34397eb01)</p>
<p>You can also download and play Xonotic on Desura:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.desura.com/games/xonotic"><img src="http://button.desura.com/play/outline/games/12648.png" alt="Desura Digital Distribution" /></a></p>
<p>While you&rsquo;re downloading the game, check out some of the highlights of this release&hellip;</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/xonotic20130607214802-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/xonotic20130607214802-00-200x200.jpg" alt="CTF flag model on dance" /></a></p>
<h3 id="massive-updates-to-game-modes">Massive updates to game modes</h3>
<p>Xonotic 0.7 features updates to the classic game modes that define the game, including a <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3491">complete rewrite</a> of <strong>Capture The Flag</strong>. New gameplay elements such as flag-passing and stalemates have been introduced along with new visual effects and game notification messages. Other game modes such as Clan Arena, Arena, Last Man Standing, Onslaught, Assault, Freezetag, Nexball, and Domination have also received updates for bugs, minor features, and relocations to the mutator system.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/xonotic20130607220340-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/xonotic20130607220340-00-200x200.jpg" alt="Spine bending while aiming upwards" /></a></p>
<h3 id="animation-blending">Animation blending</h3>
<p>Our last release ushered in a new wave of possibilities with client-side rendering of players which allowed us to implement full animation blending to playermodel rendering, among other unique features. Because of this we can now play two separate animations on a player at the same time. This means we can show a specific walking direction on the legs <em>and</em> play an attacking animation on the torso simultaneously. This implementation also lets us bend the playermodel skeleton based on the direction they are looking, which provides a seamless appearence of where other players are aiming.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/xonotic20130607215456-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/simpleitems.jpg" alt="Simple Items" /></a></p>
<h3 id="more-competitive-features">More competitive features</h3>
<p>This release also includes many new competitive-oriented features. The long-anticipated arrival of <strong>simple items</strong> provides 2D rendering of sprites for item pickups instead of models, allowing items to be identifiable from a much further distance. <strong>Super spectating</strong> is also available, which allows for a wider array of options for video recordings and broadcasters with options such as follow powerup and follow killer. New and improved <strong>spawn rules</strong> better fit competitive gameplay in duels or team matches alike.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/newmaps.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/newmaps-200x200.jpg" alt="Darkzone remake for Xonotic" /></a></p>
<h3 id="mapping-updates">Mapping updates</h3>
<p>Once again we have rolled out a fair portion of mapping updates to the game, including 4 new maps: <strong>Abyss</strong>: A large indoor CTF map by kuniuthefrogg designed for public and competitive gameplay. <strong>Fuse</strong>: A stunning new duel map by cityy which captures the aspects of Xonotic movement and game design perfectly. <strong>SilentSiege</strong>: A medium size duel map made by Justin with stormkeep-like gameplay. <strong>Oilrig</strong>: A revived map from the older origins of our project, providing great visuals and deathmatch gameplay that will really shine through with the older members of our community. Additionally we have paid a lot of attention to the existing maps again, and updated them with new features and gameplay improvements along the way.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/chatbox.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/chatbox.jpg" alt="Death messages and join messages pushed to chatbox" /></a></p>
<h3 id="better-handling-of-in-game-messages">Better handling of in-game messages</h3>
<p>The in-game message system has been completely re-written for this release. It provides an entirely new set of abilities for centerprints, console messages, and hud notifications. The system gives players the flexibility to customize and control all of the game messages as well as the ability to add full translation support. The notification system also integrates with many of the other game mode updates.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/gmqcc-logo.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/06/gmqcc-logo-200x200.jpg" alt="GMQCC logo" /></a></p>
<h3 id="all-new-compiler">All new compiler</h3>
<p>We have migrated to an all new QuakeC compiler, <a href="https://github.com/graphitemaster/gmqcc">gmqcc</a>. The work of graphitemaster and Blub\0, gmqcc generates faster, more optimized program files when compared to its predecessor. It gives game code developers new features and tools that will be of tremendous value to the game in the future.</p>
<h3 id="in-closing"><strong>In Closing</strong></h3>
<p>Xonotic 0.7 is the product of strong collaboration between our developers and the rest of our vibrant, diverse community. We&rsquo;re excited to look at this release as nothing other than a giant step forward for the project. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends! For your support and feedback, we thank you. See you out there on the servers - happy fragging!</p>
<p>P.S. We&rsquo;ve finally decided upon a new release schedule, so expect to see more frequent, consistent release patterns from us in the future!</p>
Halogene's Newbie Corner - Part 5: Gameplay tipshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-5-gameplay-tips/
Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:41:55 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-5-gameplay-tips/<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/newbie-corner-banner2-800x239.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><em>Edit: Visit the complete and updated tutorial <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide">here</a></em></p>
<p>Welcome back to the 5th episode of my Newbie Corner! Now that we&rsquo;ve been examining movement and weapons, the air for new newbie stuff is starting to get thinner and thinner, but there&rsquo;s still enough material left to be covered by one or two newbie corners, so let&rsquo;s get started! In this part I&rsquo;ll be providing some general gameplay hints that hopefully will make your life as a newbie out there on the servers easier – and longer :)</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/combo.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>First of all, Xonotic encourages the usage of weapon combos. How so? Well, if you shoot, you will have to wait a short while (the refire time) until that weapon is able to shoot again, unless you&rsquo;re holding a constant or rapid fire weapon (currently only hagar and mg). The refire time is rather short so it doesn&rsquo;t feel like limiting you much if you&rsquo;re not aware of the concept of weapon combos. But if you switch your weapon immediately after you shoot, you can land a second shot with the second weapon faster than you would be able to with a second shot of the first weapon, as the refire time is longer than the weapon switch delay. This way you are able to deal more damage per second by combining different weapons. Additionally, combining weapons also enables you to combine the specific benefits of two weapons, like slowing down a fast target with crylink in order to be able to easier finish it off with an instahit gun such as nex.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/keyboard.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>This leads to the problem that it&rsquo;s terrible difficult for any orthopedic healthy and sane person to do weapon combos efficiently and reliably with the default keyboard layout or (omg!) the mouse wheel. Fortunately, Xonotic allows you to re-configure the entire keyboard bindings very easily (settings window → input tab). I consider direct weapon binds per weapon the easiest way to access any weapon immediately, and would strongly recommend to place the relevant binds around your movement keys or on extra mouse buttons your desktop rodent may have. You will have to find a solution that feels comfortable for you, which might require some experimenting. I for example moved my movement keys from wasd to esdf in order to have more keys available around my movement keys for weapon binds. But that&rsquo;s just an example, you&rsquo;ll have to find out what works best for you.</p>
<p>Don&rsquo;t worry, impacts on your playing skills that result from redesigning your keyboard layout will, once you found a comfortable setup, be temporary only and the change WILL pay off in the longrun. Being able to pick the right weapon for the job instantly by means of a finger reflex is a great advantage in a FPS that is as fast paced as Xonotic.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/splash.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Another thing you should be aware of is that splash damage travels through walls. Knowledge of this fact can come in very handy at various situations. Especially if you know or suspect someone to be on a higher level above you and the ceiling is thin, you can just try a lucky mortar or rocket shot at the ceiling. The hit indicator sound (that little beep) will tell you if your guess was right. If you&rsquo;re very confident about the location of your opponent, you can even unleash an electro combo (see <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-4-the-core-weapons/">Part 4</a>: electro) at the ceiling, which works surprisingly well and does a great amount of splash damage, but takes a bit more time to do.</p>
<p>Using splash damage that travels through walls is a very useful and secure technique, as the opponent will obviously not able to fire back at the same time.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/healthy.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>This is something which is almost too obvious to be included here, but I&rsquo;ve seen so many new players running right past health and armor pickups without taking them. In Xonotic, your starting health of 100 can be brought below zero very quickly. It takes any experienced player two shots to accomplish this, which typically are a two weapon combo so this goes REALLY fast. If ONE player can finish you off that fast, imagine how long your life lasts in a typical EIGHT player deathmatch. This is why it is absolutely crucial to pick up any health and armor you might find on your way, unless of course this puts you in a dangerous position that outweighs the advantages of a health/armor boost. A mega armor or mega health gives you additional 100 health or armor points respectively, which obviously equals the amount of damage you can take with your starting health – you could consider a mega armor or mega health an extra life. Megas respawn within 30 seconds of being taken.</p>
<p>However, note that if you are above 100 health/armor, both health and armor will start to rot down to 100 a short while after you picked up your last health or armor respectively. The higher above 100 you are, the faster the rot goes. On the other hand if you are below 100 health, your health will start to regenerate a short while after you took damage for the last time. Again, the lower your health is, the faster it regenerates. This means if you get out of a battle with really low health and there is no health pickup anywhere near, it can be a good idea to retreat to a place out of action until you managed to regenerate a bit. Armor obviously does not regenerate.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/listen.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The fewer players you have in a match, the more important it gets to listen to the sounds they make. Each armor or health pickup size has its own distinctive pickup sound. Pickup sounds are louder and therefore easier to notice even at some distance than footsteps. If you know where which pickups are on the map you&rsquo;re playing, you&rsquo;ll be very often able to know where other players are before seeing them just by listening to the pickup sounds they make.</p>
<p>Also note that the sound a player makes when getting hit varies depending on how low that player&rsquo;s health is. When you hit a player and you hear the characteristic “very low health groan” (most newbies know that sound primarily from their own player model&hellip; :D), you&rsquo;ll know that you&rsquo;ll only need to deal a few damage points to finish that player off, so you can go for fast high spread (mg, shotgun) or fast splash damage weapons (crylink). Listening is a very important part of duel gameplay.</p>
<p>These are the general gameplay hints I was able to think of. I hope they&rsquo;ll help you live longer on public servers! Have fun and good luck, see you on the servers and stay tuned for the next issue, which will cover configuration tweaks for assisting you to concentrate on the important parts of the gameplay.</p>
A strafe-jumping lesson from Herohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/a-strafe-jumping-lesson-from-hero/
Thu, 07 Feb 2013 23:28:22 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/a-strafe-jumping-lesson-from-hero/<p>Community member <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=2859">Hero</a>, of the Profound Velocity clan, has released a new video detailing exactly how to strafe-jump. Learn to master this technique and you&rsquo;ll be flying around maps before you know it. Enjoy the video, and thank you Hero for making it!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WeRMWqliCrA"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>Join Hero and other members of his clan in the #profoundvelocity channel on Quakenet&rsquo;s IRC network.</p>
<p>Join the discussion on this post <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3936">here</a>.</p>
Xonotic fragmovie: Trev&Nacho 2013http://xonotic.org/posts/2013/xonotic-fragmovie-trevnacho-2013/
Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:36:02 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2013/xonotic-fragmovie-trevnacho-2013/<p>Ladies and gentlemen, let me present you a new Xonotic fragmovie by <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org/player/716">[0]</a><a href="http://stats.xonotic.org/player/716">Trev&amp;Nacho</a>!
The movie is 5:46 long, and features some pretty awesome and mindblowing frags by Trev, who&rsquo;s from the Australian community of Xonotic.</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rGO4sXGzPXo"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>If you&rsquo;d like to drop him a line or two, head on to our official forum, and <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3918">let him know</a> how awesome he is!</p>
<p>GG dude!</p>
Duel Mapping Contest Resultshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/duel-mapping-contest-results/
Mon, 24 Dec 2012 01:28:54 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/duel-mapping-contest-results/<p>On behalf of the Xonotic community I’d like to congratulate <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3739">cityy</a> on winning our first ever <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3438">duel mapping competition</a>! His map <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3454">Fuse</a> took home the top honors for its impressive combination of gameplay, originality, and presentation. Cityy takes home the grand prize of a brand-spanking new ﻿Sapphire HD 7750 video card for his efforts. Enjoy your spoils, cityy!</p>
<p>The competition for the top spot was fierce, but in the end everyone wins - we now have eleven new maps for our fragging enjoyment! Here’s a survey of the field:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3454">Fuse</a> by <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3739">cityy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3435">Silent Siege</a> by <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=380">Justin</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2978">FE-26</a> by <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=900">monad</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3653">Opium</a> by cityy</li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3438&amp;pid=53185#pid53185">Synthetic</a> by <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3690">foogs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3575">Imprisoned</a> by Justin</li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3438&amp;pid=53042#pid53042">Solace</a> by <a href="﻿http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=222">Debugger</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3668">Pluvial</a> by Debugger</li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3488">metalmaze</a> by <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3816">DarkSlayer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3651">Facility 123</a> by <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=95">Cortez</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3714">RAWK</a> by <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=4055">InsaneKid</a></li>
</ul>
<p>This community is lucky to have so many talented and creative individuals! I’d like to thank every mapper who took part in this competition. You should all be proud of your creations.</p>
XonStat Records Its 100,000th Game!http://xonotic.org/posts/2012/xonstat-records-its-10000th-game/
Tue, 18 Dec 2012 23:49:57 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/xonstat-records-its-10000th-game/<p>It has been just over a year since <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org">XonStat</a> recorded its first game. We’ve come a long way since those humble beginnings, so I’m very happy to announce that we recorded our 100,000th game this week! This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of server administrators from <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org/server/215">all</a> <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org/server/134">over</a> <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org/server/88">the</a> <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org/server/155">world</a>, not to mention the constant support and feedback from the players in this community.</p>
<p>Since it is nearing the end of 2012, I’d like to reflect back on how much progress we’ve made with stats this past year. Here are a few tidbits that I find interesting.</p>
<p>First of all, players are playing more games. In January the average player played 13.87 games. This past November the average player played 16.49 games (a 19% increase). I’d like to think that this is because of our welcoming community. Every time I go online, I see new people being encouraged and coached by the veterans out there. Thanks go to all of you folks helping the new people learn how to move efficiently, bend their rockets, and laser jump. You are training a new generation of pwners!</p>
<p>Secondly, more people are playing in each game. The average number of players per game was 3.83 in January. In November that number jumped up to 4.82 (a 26% increase). I think this reflects the popularity of our CTF and DM servers, though duel still remains quite popular.</p>
<p>As a side note, there was a surge in TDM games after the competitive community announced the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2992">Nation’s Cup</a>. A measly 9 TDM games were played in January, while November saw 170 games played. TDM mode seems to be a favorite amongst the competitive players wanting a bit more action than a duel, but with similar strategies.</p>
<p>We also had many more servers report in during the month of November (22) than we did in January (8). The features added to stats throughout the year paired with the new setup FAQ really helped to speed things along. It’s not uncommon to get a server up and running with stats in under ten minutes these days!</p>
<p>Finally, we’re seeing more overall games now than we have at any other point during the year. Back in January we recorded just over 2,000 games, while November saw a whopping 10,000! What’s more is that those games came from just 22 out of the 78 servers active on our <a href="http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=xonotic">master server list</a>. As more servers join the stats-enabled pool, that upward trend will only increase.</p>
<p>It’s been a whirlwind of a year, and it has been a lot of fun! As we roll into 2013, let’s keep those servers hopping! Happy fragging, and here’s to the next 100,000 games.</p>
Halogene's Newbie Corner - Part 4: The Core Weaponshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-4-the-core-weapons/
Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:02:11 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-4-the-core-weapons/<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/newbie-corner-banner2-800x239.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><em>Edit: Visit the complete and updated tutorial <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide">here</a></em></p>
<p>Now that I&rsquo;ve bored everyone to death with nifty movement tricks, let&rsquo;s have a look at what everyone is keen on getting its hands on when it comes to first person shooters:</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/WEAPONS.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>In this blog post I&rsquo;ll explain the functions of the core weapons.</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/Laser2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>I already explained the laser as versatile movement tool in <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-2-laser-jumping-and-wall-lasering-2/">Part 2</a> of my Newbie Corner. Apart from moving yourself around, you can also use it for juggling around <em>other</em> players, irritating annyoing campers or generally messing with other people&rsquo;s movement. Pushing people around or forcing a prolonged bunny hop can be especially effective on space maps. Unless shooting at sitting ducks (such as campers), you might want to aim at your target&rsquo;s feet to make use of its splash damage, as the laser projectile needs some time to travel even though it is rather fast, thus aiming directly at moving targets can be rather tricky.</p>
<p>The laser does not eat any ammo. Secondary fire will switch to the previously used weapon.</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/Shotgun2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The shotgun is your second spawn weapon. Primary fire is very powerful in close combat and, due to the bullets&rsquo; spread and being insta hit, a useful finishing weapon at medium range. Note that the push force of primary fire will slow down targets moving towards you, which can be very effective on space maps at spots where players are supposed to touch down from distant jump pads. If you shoot them with shotgun while they are still flying, they probably won&rsquo;t make it to their usual landing spot.</p>
<p>The secondary fire mode allows you to swing the shotgun like a big trout and to slap other players, which is, apart from dealing rather lots of damage, very much fun to do.</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/MG2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The machine gun&rsquo;s primary fire has a high spread, so it&rsquo;s useful mostly in close to medium range. Secondary fire has lower spread and shoots small bursts, which is more useful at medium to longer ranges. As the machine gun projectiles have a little push force and are fired rapidly, it can be quite useful for slowing down players that come at you at high speeds. In fact, it&rsquo;s hard to get into slapping range of someone that has a steady aim as long as such player is firing the machine gun.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll notice a ring around your crosshair that shows the depleting ammo. Once it is empty, the machine gun automatically reloads. To avoid running around with a couple of bullets only and having to reload in the middle of a battle (which takes far too much time), you can reload the machine gun manually at a convenient time by using the &ldquo;reload&rdquo; bind that you can set up or by re-pressing the machine gun bind while already wielding the machine gun.</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/Mortar2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The mortar fires ballistic grenades which deal a lot of direct and splash damage in addition to pushing the player away from the impact. Whereas primary fire detonates upon impact, secondary fire detonates exactly 0.5 seconds after the first bounce of the grenade. With this knowledge you can time the detonation of secondary mortar. Mortar is a very effective weapon against any non-flying targets and to spam around corners.</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/Electro2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The electro primary behaves like an ordinary rocket launcher as you might know it from other games. However, it&rsquo;s not really useful for doing high jumps. The secondary fire mode looks like some ordinary sluggish grenade like balls, but has a not so obvious special function: if you detonate the up to three blobs the secondary fire mode can release with primary fire, they will explode with a big WOOOSH that deals a lot of direct and splash damage (up to 130 dmg!). This makes the electro especially useful for blocking entries, releasing upon several opponents that are busy fighting each other or spamming where you predict someone to come.</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/Crylink2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The crylink has a couple of very non-obvious features, which makes this weapon rather interesting and unique. First of all, getting hit by crylink particles will slow you down very much, no matter of the direction you&rsquo;re moving in in relation to the firing player. Even if you move at insane speeds, getting hit by several crylink particles at once will make you perform a full stop. This makes the crylink very popular amongst defending CTF players, as you can really annoy fast flag runners with it provided you manage to hit them.</p>
<p>The latter can, however, be quite tricky, given the high spread crylink primary has. Fortunately, crylink has another feature that is very unlikely to be discovered unless someone tells you about it: when you release primary fire, the spread of crylink primary will inverse. Let that sink in for a moment.</p>
<p>&ldquo;<strong>When you release primary fire, the spread of crylink primary will inverse</strong>&ldquo;</p>
<p>Got it? This means that if you press the primary fire button, the particles will get fired with a certain spread. As long as you keep the primary fire button pressed, the spread will stay constant. Once you release it, the spread inverses, which means <strong>all particles traverse a single spot</strong>. Now the trick is to time the release so that all particles hit the opponent, or at least are NEAR to the opponent. Why to be at least near the opponent? Because once ONE crylink particle of a shot detonates (i.e. hits a player), ALL of them detonate. And crylink does most of its damage per splash damage.</p>
<p>Crylink secondary does not have the spread inversion feature. As of the autobuild version (which many servers already use), crylink secondary will not bounce, but also slow down and moderately damage other players. Players within a certain range of the particles&rsquo; explosion will get dragged towards it, so you can also use that to move players around a bit. In Xonotic&rsquo;s official 0.6 release, the crylink secondary is a rapid fire of low spread, one-time bouncing and very low damage particles which proved to be of little use given the high ammo cost and low damage.</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/Nex2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>In the hands of a player with a good aim the nex is probably the most powerful weapon in the entire game. It fires a single beam with zero spread that will instantly hit anything in its way and will even shoot through other players. You&rsquo;ll notice a small ring around the crosshair when holding the nex in your hands. If the ring is full, the nex is charged (and also starts to glow red). Charging happens automatically once you hold the weapon, and it does not cost any ammo. Upon firing, the nex obviously discharges and starts to recharge unless you switch to another weapon (what you should do, but more about weapon combos in the next issue). If charged, the nex deals 90 dmg, if you shoot with it immediately again, it deals 70 dmg, minimum damage you can deal with nex is 56 (if you switch to another weapon immediately after shooting and then shoot nex immediately after reswitching to nex, so it doesn&rsquo;t have the refire time for recharging).</p>
<p>Secondary fire only zooms in, as the weapon is strong enough as it is even without a secondary fire mode (in before balance flame war ;)).</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/hagar2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The hagar rapidly fires small rockets with a high spread. By holding secondary you can load up to 4 rockets that you can fire simultaneously by releasing secondary fire. If you hold secondary fire too long, hagar will make a little beep and automatically release the loaded rockets so you can&rsquo;t run around the map and just keeping hagar loaded all the time until you find someone. Unloading hagar secondary can deal a lot of damage at close range, however you&rsquo;ll need to watch out not to get killed yourself by the splash damage it does. Otherwise the high spread makes this weapon most usefull against opponents standing next to a wall so the rockets that miss will at least do splash damage. On most competitive servers you&rsquo;ll be able to discharge the hagar secondary without firing the rockets by pressing primary again while still holding secondary.</p>
<hr />
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/Rocket2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The rocket launcher also has some very interesting features that are not very typical for this kind of weapon. First of all you can use the secondary fire to immediately detonate remotely any rocket you fired (provided of course it is still flying). No need to hit a flying target directly, just get the rocket near and, BAM, there you go. Apart from the high splash damage, the explosion also deals quite a lot of push force, so if you want to push some flying player off the map, rocket launcher is your weapon of choice as you can not only push players away from you (push direction obviously depends on the explosion&rsquo;s position in relation to the player).</p>
<p>But not enough, you can of course also use the rocket launcher to push YOURSELF around. If you happen to be flying and need some extra acceleration but there is no wall near to laser yourself off, just shoot a rocket downwards and immediately detonate it. Yes, it hurts. A lot. But it might be worth it, be it to push you back onto the map if you are falling into the void or to prolong a laser jump so you manage to reach a distant location. This technique is called &ldquo;<strong>rocket flying</strong>&rdquo;.</p>
<p>You think I&rsquo;m already done with the rocket launcher? Not yet! In addition to this already very useful feature to remotely detonate your rockets you can also GUIDE the rockets. Just keeping the primary fire button pressed and moving the mouse enables you to do some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqfqWtXwjic">interesting stuff</a> which can come in very handy in all sorts of situations.</p>
<p>Of course you can combine rocket guiding and remote detonation.</p>
<hr />
<p>That&rsquo;s it, I hope to have been able to provide some insight into the functions of the core weapon set. For a more comprehensive overview of all the weapons that are available in the game and basically a general introduction to Xonotic see the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2529">basic basics thread</a> on the Xonotic forums, which also gets updated every now and then. In the next issue of this newbie corner I&rsquo;ll be providing general weapon usage and probably some additional gameplay hints. So long, stay tuned and have fun!</p>
Halogene's Newbie Corner - Part 3: Ramp Jumpinghttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-3-ramp-jumping/
Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:41:07 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-3-ramp-jumping/
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/newbie-corner-banner2-800x239.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><em>Edit: Visit the complete and updated tutorial <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide">here</a></em></p>
<p>Yay it&rsquo;s time again for a new episode of my newbie tutorials! Today I&rsquo;ll show you a very useful movement trick:</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/RampJumping2.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Ramps are sloped surfaces that can be used for extra upwards boost when doing a jump. If done properly, you can get to places you would not be able to reach without using a jump pad or the laser (see the previous part covering laser jumps), while not making any suspicious noises nor loosing any health. This makes ramp jumps especially useful in duels or 2v2 tdm matches and generally extends your movement options in all game modes. Ramp jumps are also very much fun to do, so let&rsquo;s get started.</p>
<p>In my &ldquo;live&rdquo; newbie tutorials, I always demonstrate the ramp jump on this spot on the map Xoylent, as it&rsquo;s rather easy to master and you get the idea how it actually works:</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/Xoylent-ramp1.final_1.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>To do a ramp jump, you simply jump onto the sloped surface and jump again. Of course you can keep the jump button pressed for convenience, as with bunny hopping you will automatically jump again when hitting the sloped surface. Now this sounds awfully easy to do, and it wouldn&rsquo;t be a proper challenge to master if that was all you got to do, would it. So let&rsquo;s have a close look at how this actually works.</p>
<p>The easiest way to make a ramp jump boost you up high is to approach the ramp frontally (see figure below), not sideways or parallelly (unless of course you&rsquo;re doing a strafe turn jump upwards the ramp, but hey this is a newbie guide!). See below what I mean with &ldquo;approach the ramp frontally&rdquo;:</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/rampjumping-easy.hard_.final_.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Make sure that you hit the ramp at a flat angle (seen from the side, as in the image below). If possible, try to hit it when still going upwards from your previous jump. If you&rsquo;re already on your way down from the previous jump when you hit the ramp, the angle at which you hit it will be steeper - if the angle is too steep or even 90 degree you&rsquo;ll get slowed down and the ramp won&rsquo;t give you the desired upwards boost.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/rampjumping-angle.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The faster you are, the higher you will get. Ramp jumps that require a higher than walking speed to do are especially tricky, since you will need to bunny hop onto them and time your jumps so you hit the ramp at a good angle. In some cases, you&rsquo;ll be able to ramp jump onto another ramp, which will result in a double ramp jump.</p>
<p>You will find ramps on a lot of maps, if you look for them. Now that I&rsquo;ve shown you the mechanics behind ramp jumping, I&rsquo;ll include some examples of ramp jumps in some of the stock maps for you to try out.</p>
<h2 id="xoylent">Xoylent</h2>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/xoylent-ramp-1.final_1.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The ramp I showed as first example on Xoylent can also be used to get to the nex platform. It&rsquo;s easier if you use the right corner of the ramp for this jump.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/xoylent-ramp-2.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>At mega health you can do a double ramp jump up to crylink, the pipes serve as second ramp. Note that you don&rsquo;t have to approach these ramps frontally as you can compensate the lower upwards boost by using the second ramp.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/xoylent-ramp-3.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>One of the most tricky ramp jumps I&rsquo;m going to show you here is the one from rocket launcher to mega health. This one is not possible to my knowledge to do with walking speed, so you&rsquo;ll have to do a bunny hop onto the ramp. I always start between the rocket launcher&rsquo;s spawn point and the wall behind it, start a bunny hop and usually hit the ramp at the right time then. You&rsquo;ll have to experiment a bit and find the good starting point for you, then you can reproduce that jump and start to get a feeling how you can do it in-game on the fly, without stopping at your favorite starting point. When turning around after the ramp jump you can switch from the forward key to the appropriate strafe key in order to loose less speed, but it&rsquo;s not required to perform that jump.</p>
<h2 id="afterslime">Afterslime</h2>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/afterslime-mortar.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>On Afterslime you can walk up to the little barrel below mortar and jump just as you reach it, it will take you up to mortar. Those barrels can be a bit tricky if you use their center for jumping, it seems using the solid corners of the barrels works best for me. Approach the barrel frontally by walking, there is no need for a pre-jump.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/afterslime-electro.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>From the stairs you can take a shortcut to the gangway where the electro is by using that fancy object over here. This can be quite useful if someone is expecting you to take the longer but more obvious way through the mortar room.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/afterslime-strength.final_1.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The very same jump can be done from electro gangway up to the upper passageway near strength room. Using this jump enables you to avoid making suspicious noises by using the jump pad or the laser.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/afterslime-mega-armor.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>A very nice trickjump is the one to mega armor. You can do this one on both sides of the mega armor room. Remember to use the solid corner of the barrel. Walk up to the barrel and jump as you reach it, keep jump button pressed and use the little ramp on the pillar for pushing you right up to the top of the pillar. This jump is very hard to do on the fly out of a bunny hop, as you&rsquo;ll be probably approaching the first ramp too fast which will boost you up too much to use the second ramp properly, so walking speed is recommended here.</p>
<h2 id="stormkeep">Stormkeep</h2>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/stormkeep-25armortunnel1.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Stormkeep has a lot of easy ramp jumps, as stormkeep&rsquo;s ramps are mostly long and therefore easy to bunny hop onto. The first one is a very easy one, you shouldn&rsquo;t have any difficulties with doing that one.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/stormkeep-25armortunnel2.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Also the other side of the warpzone can be used as a ramp, you&rsquo;ll need a bit more speed though to do this one, so gain some by a couple of pre-jumps.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/stormkeep-megahealth.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Probably the most useful jump on stormkeep. If you are too slow to make the jump directly to mega health from the little platform beside the stairs leading down there, head to the right and do a ramp jump up the stairs as shown here. No need to take the longer route via the small armor shards, which are placed so uniquely that any experienced player can tell EXACTLY where you are when you pick those up in a row and could intercept you before you reach the mega health.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/stormkeep-warpzone.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>This is a nice way to get to the top of the warpzone without making any noise in order to surprise someone that you expect to come through the warpzone soon. You&rsquo;ll need quite some speed, it&rsquo;s recommended to start prejumps in the tunnel system where the small armor shards are (below Crylink).</p>
<h2 id="runningman">Runningman</h2>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/runningman-crylink.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>On runningman, you can use the very tiny ramp at the edge of the floor to jump up to the higher level where crylink is placed. You&rsquo;ll have to jump just before you bump into the wall in order to make it, it takes some practice but it is doable reliably once you figured it out.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/runningman-megaarmor.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>You can bend the jump above so it takes you directly to the mega armor. However, this requires a lot of practice to reliably succeed. In-game I&rsquo;d recommend to stick with the jump to crylink side and from there jump over to mega armor unless you know for sure you master the bended jump. I consider this jump the hardest one of all that I show you in this post.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/runningman-hagar-double.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The ledges at hagar also serve as ramps, you can use them for a double ramp jump from the lower level up to the higher one like this. Note that when you are doing this on the fly out of a bunny hop, you might even be able to skip the upper ramp jump as the first one will take you all the way up already if you have enough speed.</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/runningman-mortar.final_.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>This jump up to mortar works most reliably for me when I walk up to the ramp and jump just before I touch it. It&rsquo;s the easiest way to get get up there without having to traverse the very open space or making a laser jump (which makes noise).</p>
<p>I hope I succeeded in enabling some people to do stuff they hadn&rsquo;t done before. Keep your eyes open for ramps and interesting jumps to do with them, as most mappers put some ramps at strategic places. Ramp jumping is a lot of fun and mastering this technique can give you a real advantage over other players - Practice and enjoy!</p>
<p>So long, the next issue of my newbie corner will cover weapon usage tips for a selected assortment of weapons, so stay tuned!</p>
ZeroQL has released his fragmovie!http://xonotic.org/posts/2012/zeroql-has-released-his-fragmovie/
Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:52:30 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/zeroql-has-released-his-fragmovie/<p>We are happy to inform you that today, <strong>Djordje &ldquo;ZeRoQL&rdquo; Simonovic</strong>, has released his new fragmovie <strong>KILLING X ZONE</strong>!</p>
<p>The fragmovie is 17:47 long, and features some of the best community frags gathered in the past half year since the release of Xonotic 0.6. Names like <strong>Asyyy, fisume, kojn, Mirio, PCLizard, srkdy</strong> and many others including ZeroQL himself, ensure that you have an awesome time watching the epic gibbage shown in the fragmovie. So make some popcorn, get in your most comfy chair, and have fun watching <strong>KILLING X ZONE</strong>!</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/10/killing_x_zone_logo.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><strong>Online Streams:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPt5O9Rs1Gw">Youtube</a><br />
<a href="http://www.own3d.tv/un10v3d/watch/829348">own3d.tv</a></p>
<p><strong>Direct Downloads:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://router.download.maverickservers.com/?file=/Killing-X-zone.%281280x800.60FPS%29-Medium.Quality.mp4">Medium Quality (1280x800 60FPS 1301MB)</a><br />
<a href="http://router.download.maverickservers.com/?file=/Killing-X-zone.%281680x1050.60FPS%29-High.Quality.mp4">Normal Quality (1680x1050 60FPS 1935MB)</a><br />
<a href="http://router.download.maverickservers.com/?file=/Killing-X-zone.%281680x1050.60FPS%29-Uber.Quality.mp4">Über Quality (1680x1050 60FPS 3205MB)</a></p>
<p><strong>Torrent Downloads:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://burnbit.com/torrent/222990/Killing_X_zone_1280x800_60FPS_Medium_Quality_mp4">Medium Quality</a><br />
<a href="http://burnbit.com/torrent/222989/Killing_X_zone_1680x1050_60FPS_High_Quality_mp4">Normal Quality</a><br />
<a href="http://burnbit.com/torrent/222988/Killing_X_zone_1680x1050_60FPS_Uber_Quality_mp4">Über Quality</a></p>
<p>If you&rsquo;ve liked the movie, be sure to leave your comment on the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3550">Xonotic forum</a> too!</p>
Halogene's Newbie Corner - Part 2: Laser Jumping and Wall Laseringhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-2-laser-jumping-and-wall-lasering-2/
Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:32:02 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-2-laser-jumping-and-wall-lasering-2/<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/newbie-corner-banner2-800x239.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/newbie-corner-banner2-800x239.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><em>Edit: Visit the complete and updated tutorial <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide">here</a></em></p>
<p>Hello and welcome back to another short introduction into Xonotic gameplay! Today I&rsquo;ll show you two important aspects of a very useful movement tool in Xonotic, THE LASER!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/lj400x200.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/lj400x2003.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>While dealing somewhat low damage, the Laser is one of the most important weapons in Xonotic. It&rsquo;s projectile creates a blast upon impact on any surface or object that deals little damage to players being nearby, but pushes such players away from the impact spot. That way, the push force of the laser projectile impact can be used to move both other players and yourself around. You can test this easily by standing and shooting at the ground below you with the laser. You&rsquo;ll notice that you get pushed up into the air by the blast. Now if you jump at the same time, you can get pushed even higher. If you get the timing right, you can get very high, like from the upper platform to the roof or from the fan to Crylink on the map Xoylent.</p>
<p>But you&rsquo;ll not always want to do very high jumps, for example if you&rsquo;re on the run and need to hit a passageway without bumping your head on an arch above it (like the mega armor on Stormkeep coming from Hagar). In such cases, it can be useful to fire downwards while you are already (or still) in the air during bunny hopping, allowing the laser to travel a short distance before impact and having more space between impact and yourself, so the push is not that strong.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll have to experiment a bit with the timing of shooting and jumping to reliably achieve the desired jump heighth, but this will become muscle memory rather quickly since you&rsquo;ll be using laser jumps a lot in Xonotic gameplay.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/wall-lasering480x171.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/wall-lasering480x171.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>Now, when accelerating fast, you won&rsquo;t always want to do that vertically. Some times the first few bunny hops are not fast enough to reach a place (or to get out of a place) in time. With the technique of wall lasering you can easily reach rather high horizontal speeds instantly, out of the stand.</p>
<p>To master wall lasering, you&rsquo;ll obviously need a wall. While it would seem logic to use a wall that you can laser off in a 90 degree angle with a laser shot backwards, it is at least equally effective and easier to use a wall that is parallel to your desired movement direction. For practicing this, you start off standing next to that wall and are facing into the desired movement direction. Then you start a bunny hop by pressing foward and then the jump key. While in the air from your first jump, you flick around (to approximately 8 o&rsquo;clock if the wall is left from you, 4 o&rsquo;clock if the wall is right to you), shoot the laser at the wall, aiming slightly above your head. If you shoot parallel or even down a bit, you&rsquo;ll get a high upwards boost, wasting energy into vertical acceleration, so be sure to aim a little bit upwards! After the flick shot turn back to your desired movement direction and contine to bunny hop. Do not release the jump key during the entire process.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/wall-lasering-comic-800x1671.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/wall-lasering-comic-800x1671.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>Now let&rsquo;s tweak this a little more. You wouldn&rsquo;t want to accelerate into your viewing direction when looking backwards during the flick shot, would you. That is why you should switch for the time you are not looking in your desired movement direction from the forward key to the respective strafe key (strafe right if you turn to a wall on your left, strafe left if you turn to a wall on your right). When turning back into movement direction, keep the strafe key pressed until you can switch to forward key again. You can use a smoother mouse movement for turning back at least for the last couple of degrees in order to gain extra acceleration as explained in Part 1 (Bunny Hopping). Also remember to release the forward key before pressing the strafe key, and vice versa!</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve learned how to reliably accelerate out of the stand with this technique, you can also use it while already bunny hopping in order to gain extra horizontal speed. Just flick around when passing a wall to gain an extra boost. Note that the laser always needs to travel a bit until it hits the wall. The faster you get, the less you need to turn backwards, since you&rsquo;ll travel forwards while the laser is on its way to the wall. At very high speeds you will even be able to shoot at 10 o&rsquo;clock or 2 o&rsquo;clock respectively, so you&rsquo;re not even facing backwards any more! But most maps don&rsquo;t allow for such fast movement. Experiment and learn at which speed to use what angle, and you&rsquo;ll be a fast flag runner very soon!</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s it for now, stay tuned for the next issue of the Newbie Corner which will cover Ramp Jumping!</p>
A Big Thanks to Gronkhhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/a-big-thanks-to-gronkh/
Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:29:29 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/a-big-thanks-to-gronkh/<p>On behalf of Team Xonotic and the entire Xonotic community I&rsquo;d like to give a big thank you to <a href="http://gronkh.de/">Gronkh</a>! Today he helped show thousands of live-stream viewers just how fun (and silly) Xonotic can be. We appreciate it, and we look forward to seeing you out on the servers soon, Gronkh! In the mean time the rest of the development team and I will continue to work hard on improving this game we love. Thanks again, and happy fragging!</p>
<p>P.S. - Our servers still love you even though you gave them a slight bump :D</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/traffic_spike.jpg" alt="" /></p>
Halogene's Newbie Corner - Part 1: Bunny Hoppinghttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-1-bunny-hopping/
Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:08:07 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-1-bunny-hopping/<p><em>Edit: Visit the complete and updated tutorial <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide">here</a></em></p>
<p><em>This is a guest post from our good friend <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=53">Halogene</a>, an experienced Xonotic player and all-around good guy.</em></p>
<p>Hello everyone that&rsquo;s new to Xonotic and maybe even new to fast-paced first person shooters in general! In this very first chapter of my newbie tips I&rsquo;ll be showing you an important movement technique called “bunny hopping.“</p>
<p>You may have noticed that players race around the maps at insane speeds, making them hard to hit and also hard to tell from which direction they&rsquo;ll come next, should you survive an attack. You can do that too, and this post will tell you how.</p>
<p>In Xonotic you have a lot of movement control while you are in the air, and to a great extent you&rsquo;ll accelerate when pressing the forward button while flying. When you just walk around, though, your feet are in constant contact with the ground, so the friction is slowing you down a lot. One of the keys to gain high speeds in Xonotic is therefore to touch the ground as little as possible. By constantly jumping you can keep ground contact to a minimum. The good thing is that you only need to keep the jump button pressed and you will jump again once you hit the ground (unless of course you disabled that in Settings → User). If you press the forward button while holding the jump button, you&rsquo;ll continuously get faster until you hit the acceleration limit.</p>
<p>This is quite easy and there&rsquo;s nothing really to master about plain forward bunny hopping. You&rsquo;ll face complications if you now try to turn once you gained some speed, however. If you continue to press the forward key and simply turn the mouse, you&rsquo;ll hardly manage to make a sharp turn (unless you stop jumping, which slows you down a lot). Online you&rsquo;ll meet a lot of players doing sharp turns at high speeds, and here&rsquo;s the secret how to do it:</p>
<p>Before the turn, while still bunny hopping, release the forward key (yes, really release it - it doesn&rsquo;t slow you down that much). Once you&rsquo;ve released the forward key and while still keeping the jump key pressed, hold down the strafe key in the direction you want to turn (for sharp right turn: strafe right). Now hold the jump key and the strafe key and smoothly turn your mouse in the strafe direction (in my example, right). It&rsquo;s vital to move the mouse smoothly, because any abrupt sudden movements will slow you down. I can&rsquo;t stress this aspect enough - a lot of newcomers that I told this technique basically got all the key pressing part right but fail at moving the mouse smoothly. Slowly accelerate and decelerate the mouse turn and maintain a steady turn speed in between. The movement needs to be fluent and soft to get the full benefit. Also note that releasing the forward key while you&rsquo;ve already pressed the strafe key will slow you down too, so be sure to use the right order. You&rsquo;ll notice that if you do it right, you actually don&rsquo;t lose speed in turns, but rather start to accelerate!</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;re done turning, you can release the strafe key and press forward key again or even directly switch to the other direction. A good way to practice this is to use forward only for inital acceleration, and then to do turns left and right running in an number eight-shaped figure (I recommend the main room in the map “afterslime” for that).</p>
<p>It takes a while to get used to, but if you practice it it goes into your cerebellum sooner or later (depending on your age, mostly) and then you&rsquo;ll never think about it again! At that point you&rsquo;ll be bunny hopping all over the place at high speed. Mastering this technique is very rewarding, since running around a map at high speed is a bunch of fun.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s it for now, practice and enjoy!</p>
Much Ado About Elo: Part Deuxhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/much-ado-about-elo-part-deux/
Sat, 04 Aug 2012 02:36:03 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/much-ado-about-elo-part-deux/
<p>It has been about two weeks since I talked initially about our Elo ranking system. How time flies! As that time has passed, I&rsquo;ve collected lots of valuable feedback both from players as well as my fellow developers, and I&rsquo;m very excited to tell you about some further tweaks I&rsquo;ve made to the algorithm. There are two relatively big changes: one dealing with non-duel game modes, and another dealing with how S is calculated in the original formula. I&rsquo;ll talk about the ranking changes to the various game modes first.</p>
<h3 id="duels-versus-everything-else">Duels Versus&hellip;Everything Else</h3>
<p>Let me start by saying duel is largely unaffected. Phew! It is naturally the most competitive game mode, thus it deserves a more pure, winner-take-all algorithm. It&rsquo;s a good match for the implementation I discussed in my last post.</p>
<p>Team games are a different animal, however. With team games we see win-switchers (switching right before the end to be on the winning team), stackers (loading up the talent on one team only), and quitters. While we really can&rsquo;t do anything about the latter, we can do something about the former two. The change I made to counteract those is to rank-compare every player in the game to everyone else regardless of team. The points gained or lost against each opponent are then summed to formulate the final net gain/loss. This means that you have to hold your own against everyone else to gain points instead of relying on just being on the winning team. Imagine that! This also means that you can still lose points when you win if you don&rsquo;t score equal to or higher than expected.</p>
<h3 id="the-scorefactor">The Scorefactor</h3>
<p>Wait, did you say score? Yes, I said score. In order to make individual comparisons work, I had to use the individual&rsquo;s score as a means of comparison in lieu of just win or loss (1 or 0 for the S value). Each player&rsquo;s score is first converted into score per second, which takes his or her alivetime in the game into account. The scores for two players A and B are then compared with the following formula to obtain the scorefactor, S:</p>
<p><img src="http://antzucaro.com/uploads/2012/08/scorefactor.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>This formula yields a value between 0 and 1, which tells us the “winner” in the comparison. A value less than 0.5 means player A won, a value greater than 0.5 mean player B won, and a value of exactly 0.5 represents a draw. Note that the sum total of A and B&rsquo;s scorefactor here is 1, so B&rsquo;s scorefactor is simply 1-Sa.</p>
<p>The resulting S value is plugged into the original formula I covered in my initial post, which is then used to calculate the final points gained or lost. For the sake of completeness, I&rsquo;ll relist it here:</p>
<p><img src="http://antzucaro.com/uploads/2012/08/elodelta.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The big change here is that S can now take on a range of values between 0 and 1. It&rsquo;s that range that allows players to get an accurate points value for their contribution to the game, no matter the team they&rsquo;re on. It&rsquo;s a big improvement over the black and white algorithm that we had before.</p>
<h3 id="in-conclusion">In Conclusion</h3>
<p>So what we have now for non-duel games is something that scales the points gained or lost according to how well you score versus everyone else in the game. For duel games, the initial algorithm remains in place. The end result is a ranking system that I think everyone can find fair, albeit imperfect. That being said, I suggest that you take all of the ranks and scores with a grain of salt: there is no number that is a true indicator of what you bring to the table as a player. Get in the game and focus on what is truly important: having fun! Happy fragging, and I&rsquo;ll see you out there!</p>
Heads up for OSX Mountain Lion usershttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/heads-up-for-osx-mountain-lion-users/
Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:32:53 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/heads-up-for-osx-mountain-lion-users/<p>A couple of days ago Apple has presented their latest version of Mac OS X: Mountain Lion (10.8). This latest release adds quite a few security measures, which can affect the use of Xonotic. In this post I&rsquo;d like to address these issue and how they can easily be solved.</p>
<p>For users downloading a fresh copy of Xonotic from our website, they will get an error when trying to start the game for the first time. The error looks like this:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/screen-shot-2012-07-29-at-7-21-43-pm.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/Screen-Shot-2012-07-29-at-7.21.43-PM.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>This is the new Gatekeeper verifying downloads when starting them for the <strong>first time</strong>. The simple solution is to right-click the Xonotic application, and select &lsquo;Open&rsquo; - you will now be presented with a window where you can choose to specifically trust the Xonotic application (yes, you can trust us ;-). After doing this once, you can simply start the application the next time by clicking it directly.</p>
<p>The alternative is to disable Gatekeeper altogether, which can be done under the Privacy &amp; Security tab in the System Settings. We however do not encourage you to do this, as the workaround to whitelist specific applications is pretty easy.</p>
<p>For users running from git, we are still working out the kinks in order to be able to properly download and compile in Mountain Lion. Please get in touch with us on IRC if you have specific issue and we can look into it.</p>
Much Ado About Elohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/much-ado-about-elo/
Sun, 22 Jul 2012 22:15:43 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/much-ado-about-elo/
<p>I’ve had several players ask me about how the ranking system for XonStat works. This is my humble attempt to do so. If you have any particular questions that aren’t answered here, ping me in the Xonotic IRC or forums and I’ll try to answer it. If the wind is blowing in a favorable direction, I might also update this very post.</p>
<h3 id="the-short-story">The Short Story</h3>
<p>Did I mention that there is a short story and a long story to this? There is - how delightful!The short story is that I’m using the Elo rating system to gauge the strength of players in Xonotic. It’s similar, though not exactly the same, as what is used in many chess ranking systems. An excellent writeup of the history and mathematical details behind the Elo algorithm can be found on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system">Wikipedia</a>. For those who want all the gory details, read that and become enlightened! Or read it and become more confused. It’s okay either way. Now for the long story.</p>
<h3 id="the-long-story">The Long Story</h3>
<p>Way back when I was first implementing XonStat, people would often approach me with an idea to incorporate global rankings into the system. I had no idea of how to do so until someone pointed out the aforementioned Elo system to me, also noting that several other popular FPS games had also done so. I looked into it and how it works. divVerent and I set out to implement it within our database.</p>
<p>The Elo system is based on wins and losses versus your opponents. You gain points from winning, and you lose points from losing. Sounds simple, right? It really is, but adopting the algorithm to Xonotic had a few nuances. The rating of your opponent also comes into play such that wins over stronger opponents will give you more points than wins over weak ones. This means that a win over a person rated higher than you yields more Elo points than a win over a person new to the game. The same principles apply to losses.</p>
<p>Let’s cut right to the chase and talk about how XonStat determines the points increase or decrease for each match. Unfortunately for this part we’ll have to look at the gory mathematical details. We’ll use a theoretical match between players A and B, and we’ll look specifically at the points increase/decrease for player A (forgive me for the bad screen caps):</p>
<p><img src="http://antzucaro.com/uploads/2012/07/elo/elo.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>In the notation above E is the expected outcome, S is the actual outcome (1 for a win, 0 for a loss), and K is the experience adjustment factor. We’ll talk more about K in a minute, but for now just think of it as a constant.</p>
<p>To get the points increase (or decrease) value for each match, we first have to start with what the expected outcome would be. Simply put, stronger players are more likely to defeat weaker players, and the formula for E is just expressing that in terms of a likelihood between 0 and 1. This may help you understand why winning against very weak opponents nets you very little points - if the expected outcome is near 1 (a sure win), it follows that what’s left over after subtracting it from 1 will not be very much, thus the amount of points gained will be low.</p>
<h3 id="the-experience-factor">The Experience Factor</h3>
<p>The more games you have under your belt, the more accurate we can say your Elo score is, and thus the less we need to adjust your score after each game. This is exactly what the K is for in the formulas above. We vary K along with how many games you’ve played. You start off with a K value of 200, but over the course of 32 games that factor decreases linearly down to 40. This means that new player will jump up and down in point value much more dramatically than a seasoned veteran until he or she reaches the requisite number of games.</p>
<p>In XonStat we also use the K value to account for players who have not played an entire match. Such players have their K value modified downwards by the percentage of the match they did not play. This is determined by comparing their alivetime value with the match’s overall duration. For example, if a player plays 800 seconds out of a 1000-second match, their K value will be 80% of what it would have been otherwise.</p>
<h3 id="a-real-example">A Real Example</h3>
<p>Enough with this A and B business. Let’s do an example with real values! Imagine I (Elo 350) play Mirio (Elo 450) in a duel and Mirio wins. Assuming both of us are experienced players with over 32 games played, we’ll each have a K value of 40. Since Mirio won, his S value is 1 while mine is 0.</p>
<p>Mirio’s points value from his win will be:</p>
<pre><code>40*(1- 13.33/(13.33+7.50)) = 14.40
</code></pre>
<p>My points from the loss will be:</p>
<pre><code>40*(0- 7.50/(7.50+13.33)) = -14.40
</code></pre>
<p>Now let’s turn the tables and see the points values for if I win the match! This time Mirio’s S value will be 0 and mine will be 1.</p>
<p>Mirio’s points from his loss will be:</p>
<pre><code>40*(0- 13.33/(13.33+7.50)) = -25.60
</code></pre>
<p>My points from the win will be:</p>
<pre><code>40*(1- 7.50/(7.50+13.33)) = 25.60
</code></pre>
<p>Take note of the points differences when the winners are transposed. If I won the match, I was rewarded with more points because I was expected to lose. Hooray to the underdog!</p>
<h3 id="team-matches">Team Matches</h3>
<p>Thus far we’ve only discussed matches between two players. That’s fine and well, but what about team matches where there is more than one person to compare against? I handle this by running the above calculations between each winner and loser and averaging the result. For example, if a player has won a game against three individuals, the points he gets is the sum of all of the points from each individual calculation divided by three. The points gained is thus the average points gained from each individual a player has defeated, with the opposite being true for lost points.</p>
<h3 id="rankings">Rankings</h3>
<p>As you may have guessed by now, we use the aggregated Elo scores of players to determine rank. Ranks are calculated at the beginning of each day using the Elo values at that time. Ranks are per game type, and mutators are not taken into account. You can check out the current ranks on the “leaderboard” page of stats each day.</p>
<h3 id="in-conclusion">In Conclusion</h3>
<p>In this post I’ve covered the details of the Elo implementation within XonStat, the statistics database for Xonotic. I’ve covered individual and team games as well as how the basic structure of Elo is used to determine point gains and losses from matches. I also discussed a little about how experience alters the ratings and how ranking works. I hope you’ve found this subject matter entertaining! As always, you can contact me in the forums at forums.xonotic.org or on IRC at #xonotic on Quakenet (I’m Antibody or dfdashh) with any questions or comments.</p>
Farewell, FruitieX!http://xonotic.org/posts/2012/farewell-fruitiex/
Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:06:52 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/farewell-fruitiex/<p>Team Xonotic would like to wish the best of luck to fellow developer <strong>FruitieX</strong>, who will tomorrow join the Finnish Defence Forces for a year of training.</p>
<p>Take care mate, and have fun with the new toys, but remember: there&rsquo;s no respawn in real life! Try not to overabuse rocketjumping with the RPG ;)</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/salute.jpg">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/salute-500x400.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
Teaser for Killing X-Zone - Xonotic Community movie http://xonotic.org/posts/2012/teaser-for-killing-x-zone-xonotic-community-movie/
Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:09:36 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/teaser-for-killing-x-zone-xonotic-community-movie/<p><strong>ZeRoQL</strong> released a small teaser for his incoming fragmovie titled <strong>Killing X-Zone</strong>, which will be 20min long and full of frag epicness!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w85Wrf9vxBU"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>You can download the teaser from one the following links:</p>
<p>Mirror #1: <a href="http://88.198.17.137/_files/Teaser%20for%20Killing%20X-Zone%20-%20Xonotic%20Community%20movie.mp4">Hetzner Online (Germany)</a></p>
<p>Mirror #2: <a href="http://download.maverickservers.com/Teaser%20for%20Killing%20X-Zone%20-%20Xonotic%20Community%20movie.mp4">Maverickservers (California)</a></p>
WoX-BloX Issue #4: Developer newshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/wox-blox-issue-4-developer-news/
Sun, 17 Jun 2012 20:26:08 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/wox-blox-issue-4-developer-news/
<p>Welcome to the 4th issue of Wox-BloX! It&rsquo;s been a while since we gave word about the project, but fear not, it&rsquo;s not because we didn&rsquo;t do anything remarkable or have been resting on our laurels!
Xonotic 0.6 got a very good reception, with coverage on various gaming sites. Since the release, the game has been downloaded <strong>over 43000 times</strong> from xonotic.org. We now have around <strong>1000 active players, 29 of which are playing at any given time</strong> (at least that’s what our stats tell us).
This is still not the end of the road, as Xonotic is still far from perfect on numerous aspects. There&rsquo;s no ETA for a new release, but I can already tell you it&rsquo;ll have a lot of long awaited and interesting features, raising the high bar set by 0.6. Let&rsquo;s go over what happened with the game since the latest official release!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/wazzup_with_development.jpg">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/wazzup_with_development-500x400.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<h2 id="new-weapons-design"><strong>New Weapons design</strong></h2>
<p>Listening to various sources of feedback from inside and outside the community, <strong>Xonotic’s weapons are being re-designed</strong>. The idea is to bring the default game down to only <strong>8 core weapons</strong>: a spawn weapon, the Nexrifle, a lightning gun (aka. <strong>Arc Cannon</strong>), the Rocketlauncher, the Crylink, the Mortar, the Electro and the Hagar. The goals for this consolidation are to remove redundancy, improve on usability, simplify overly complex designs, and generally streamline the system to be more consistent and logical. For competitive players, this will be absolutely essential because it provides features and ideas they&rsquo;ve been requesting for ages. It will make the game less confusing and messy for casual players as well. The first step towards this redesign was to move the &ldquo;gimmick&rdquo; weapons (Mine Layer, Sniper Rifle, H.L.A.C., T.A.G. seeker etc.) into a game mutator, now known as &ldquo;<strong>new toys</strong>&rdquo;.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/xonotic20120614165646-00.jpg">
<img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/xonotic20120614165646-00-500x400.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>The second step is already in the works by <strong>Samual</strong>, who made the 0.6 weapon balance. The basic concept for starters is to merge the two current spawn weapons (the Shotgun and the Laser) into only one, but keeping all the aspects of the two guns: hitscan spread spawn/finishing weapon, laser jumping tool, and melee capability. Further plans include removing the Machinegun (replaced by the Arc Cannon), and the Nexrifle getting its own ammo type. The shotgun’s ammo will also be removed as it becomes obsolete.
For more information regarding the weapon re-design, check out it&rsquo;s <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3029">official thread</a> on our forums.</p>
<h2 id="simple-items"><strong>Simple Items</strong></h2>
<p><strong>tZork</strong> implemented the quite popular feature among more competitive players known as &ldquo;Simple Items,” known from Quake3 and QuakeLive for example. But what are &ldquo;simple items&rdquo;? The function of simple items is to replace weapon pickup and item models with a simple sprite image that faces the player at all times.</p>
<p>The sprite models are made by K__, who made a streamlined set of simple items:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/simple_items.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/simple_items-500x375.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>To learn more, take a visit to the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2766&amp;page=5">Simple items</a> thread on our forums.</p>
<h2 id="xonstat-updates"><strong>XonStat updates</strong></h2>
<p><strong>Antibody</strong>, &ldquo;the Chuck Norris of databases&rdquo;, continues to maintain and further develop our global statistics tracking system, Xonstat. Changes include accuracy and effective damage graphs, favorite map tracking per-player, and ranking information on the player info page (stats.xonotic.org/player/).
The first graph shows a player&rsquo;s average accuracy for a given weapon along with the accuracy for that weapon for up to the past 20 games. The graph replaces what was once a big table of numbers containing the accuracy and damage details. One thing to note is that a weapon won&rsquo;t show up under the graph until the tracked player has used it five or more times in the past 90 days.
The second graph shows the effective damage a player dealt per splash damage weapon (Rocket Launcher, Mortar, Electro, etc.). Missed shots (eg. spam) don&rsquo;t count, so with this new graph you can really keep track of how well you&rsquo;re on target.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/0505_accuracy_after.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/0505_accuracy_after-500x187.jpg" alt="Click on the graph for more images!" /></a></p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/20120616_xonstat_dmg_graph.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/20120618_ranks.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Note: if you happen to loose your player key file (key_0.d0si), and you&rsquo;d like merge the new one with the old, simply write an email or pm to either <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=530">Antibody</a> or <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=213">Mirio</a> on the Xonotic forums. They can consolidate your player data so all stats information is stored under one account.</p>
<h2 id="item-timers-for-spectators">Item timers for spectators</h2>
<p>Thanks to <strong>terencehill</strong> the HUD has a new <strong>important items timer panel</strong> that can only be enabled and seen in spectator mode. The new panel, as its name suggests, prints out the the time remaining in seconds for spawn of the most important items like the Mega Health, Mega Armor, Strenght etc. As usual, the panel has lots of configuration options, so one can fine tune its layout and information printout for personal taste.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/xonotic20120615234247-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/xonotic20120615234247-00-500x400.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/xonotic20120615230334-00.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/xonotic20120615230325-00.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>The branch is still heavily experimental and could contain bugs, so until it hits master, you can try it out by checking out the branch:
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/terencehill/itemstime;js=1">xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git/terencehill/itemstime</a></p>
<h2 id="cubemap-reflections-on-playermodels">Cubemap reflections on playermodels</h2>
<p>Further boosting the impressive visual quality of Xonotic, <strong>MirceaKitsune</strong> added cubemap reflections to the playermodels. As the change cannot be well shown with only screenshots, check out the video below to see the new, shiny looks of our playermodels!</p>
<p><object style="visibility: visible;" id="vvq-2525-youtube-2" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/hxuIKk189dI&amp;#038;rel=0&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;showsearch=0&amp;#038;showinfo=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="385" width="640"><param value="opaque" name="wmode"><param value="true" name="allowfullscreen"><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"></object></p>
<p>The merge request for the cubemap reflections is already done. If you&rsquo;d like to take a sneak-peak before it reaches master, do a git check out on:
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/mirceakitsune/player_cubemaps">xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git/mirceakitsune/player_cubemaps</a></p>
<h2 id="bezier-curves-for-func-trains">Bezier curves for func_trains</h2>
<p>Again, <strong>MirceaKitsune</strong> coded with help from <strong>divVerent</strong> a mapping feature, that allows func_train entities to use bezier curves for trajectory and rotation. The code is already merge requested, so expect this functionality to show up in later releases. If you&rsquo;d like to try it out before that happens, do a git checkout on:
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/mirceakitsune/func_train_beizer_curve;js=1">mirceakitsune/func_train_beizer_curve</a></p>
<p>and dowload the pk3 of the <a href="http://beta.xonotic.org/autobuild-bsp/city_new-york-full-5873b14a2a35a280e41f6005fe0106556bf9a547-07de2bd22bf0cf9cde26891013c6bd6183223b28.pk3">example map</a>:</p>
<p><object style="visibility: visible;" id="vvq-2525-youtube-3" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/AEfT6LOYm-M&amp;#038;rel=0&amp;#038;fs=1&amp;#038;showsearch=0&amp;#038;showinfo=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="385" width="640"><param value="opaque" name="wmode"><param value="true" name="allowfullscreen"><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"></object></p>
<h2 id="new-maps-8-bit-arena-and-vociferous">New maps: 8-bit Arena and Vociferous</h2>
<p>In the <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts//2011/wox-blox-issue-1-developer-news/">first issue of WoX-BloX</a>, we gave word about <strong>8-bit Arena</strong>, which is a map built in a very unique 8-bit style with retro gaming references, and homages made to a classic and beautiful era of computer history. It was originally planned to support CTF and Nexball too, but it turned out that the glowy floor-tiles on a larger map would put too much pressure on a server, so those game modes were dropped. Apart from its unique style, the map might be interesting on the technical side for mappers too, as it showcases some mapping tricks never seen in any Xonotic maps before:</p>
<ul>
<li>Bobbing elements that are not func_bobbing entities, so they do not network any data from the server to the clients</li>
<li>Warpzones that don&rsquo;t network data, so while they provide seamless transportation, cannot be seen through</li>
<li>Floor tiles, that glow when a player steps on them</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/8bit_arena1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/8bit_arena1-500x400.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/8bit_arena2.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/8bit_arena3.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/06/8bit_arena4.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>After <strong>C.Brutail</strong> <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2875">proposed a new, more collaborative mapping procedure for official Xonotic maps</a>, he started the very first <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=3061">map incubator thread for Vociferous</a>, which is the WIP title for a new, competitive oriented TDM map. The map is still very early in planning and designing stages, but ideas are already pouring from the more experienced players, so there&rsquo;s big hope that the map will feature a good flow and a well planned tactical layout that is necessary for a competitive map.</p>
<h2 id="ending-words">Ending words</h2>
<p>Phew, that was massive! I hope we could get you all up to date with this developer blog, and excited about the new features, that Xonotic 0.7 will bring to you! I&rsquo;m most certain that the upcoming months will be very exciting regarding development, especially because of the new weapon design. Many thanks to <strong>fisume</strong>, who helped me in writing this blog! The next issue of WoX-BloX will be about community news. Stay tuned, and happy fragging!</p>
Xonotic 0.6 is now available!http://xonotic.org/posts/2012/xonotic-0-6-is-now-available/
Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:03:22 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/xonotic-0-6-is-now-available/
<p>The 7th of March was a momentous day for the developers, community members, and gamers of Xonotic - the project&rsquo;s <strong>second birthday</strong>! To celebrate this occasion Team Xonotic is happy to announce the next official release of Xonotic!</p>
<p>After six months of active development, <strong>Xonotic 0.6</strong> brings many new features for both casual and die-hard players. It boasts new weapon models, new maps, massive new features, and a ton of bugs fixes.</p>
<p>While you&rsquo;re busy downloading the game, let&rsquo;s have a look at all the fantastic enhancements Xonotic 0.6 has to offer.</p>
<h3 id="download-here">Download Here</h3>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.6.0.zip.torrent">Download via torrent</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.6.0.zip">Download via HTTP</a></p>
<p>MD5: 2dac2c1ad4388255d3ad4d038dea3f77
Package size: 964MiB</p>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.6.0-low.zip">Lower quality download via HTTP</a> (602MiB, md5: 219aaa91eb8362e39e0851eb83bd3a1f)</p>
<p><a href="http://mirror.bitmissile.com/xonotic/releases/xonotic-0.6.0-mappingsupport.zip">Map editor download via HTTP</a> (150MiB, md5: 0ccee66956043898a696f97df1a3f723)</p>
<p>You can also download and play Xonotic on Desura:
<a href="http://www.desura.com/games/xonotic"><img src="http://button.desura.com/play/outline/games/12648.png" alt="Desura Digital Distribution" /></a></p>
<h3 id="client-side-networked-players">Client side networked players</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/nmymodel_dmgeffect.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/nmymodel_dmgeffect-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226225951-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226225951-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/decals_on_players.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/decals_on_players.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/damage_oriented.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/damage_oriented.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Xonotic 0.6 introduces the long-awaited feature of ClientSide QuakeC (CSQC) networked players. With this change player entities are now controlled on the client instead of the server, which allows the client to control animation of the models and their level of detail. This conserves FPS and improves performance without any visual loss. Spawn <strong>damage particle effects on characters</strong> (bleeding, burning, gibbing etc.) are also possible with this approach. It also allows the player to enable <strong>forced enemy models</strong>: regardless of what playermodels others choose, you can set a different one locally, e.g. brightskins that are very popular among more competitive players.</p>
<p>CSQC networked players opens many more possibilities for the future, including ragdolls, animation blending/smoothing/segmentation, client side weapons (no latency when firing/attacking) and much more. The most important parts for this are included in the engine of 0.6, allowing servers running newer versions to push these future features to the client dynamically. This allows for much more flexible development and better testing.</p>
<h3 id="xonotic-player-statistics">Xonotic player statistics</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonstats_main1.jpeg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonstats_main1-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonstats_player.jpeg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonstats_player.jpeg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonstats_games.jpeg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonstats_games.jpeg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>XonStats</strong>, the integrated statistics system for Xonotic, allows you to send game data (frags, deaths, captures, weapon accuracy, etc.) and store them online for later viewing (at <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org/">http://stats.xonotic.org/</a>). You can search for yourself or your friends&rsquo; <strong>statistics</strong>, watch overall <strong>rankings</strong>, server statistics and much more! Because we respect your <strong>privacy</strong> the system has been designed to be specifically <strong>opt-in</strong>, and on first launch of the game you will be asked whether you want your stats to be published. More features for the statistics are still being developed, so please get in touch with us if you&rsquo;d like to see more data or would like to see data represented in another way.</p>
<h3 id="srgb-lightmap-rendering">sRGB lightmap rendering</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/srgb_g23_1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/srgb_g23_1-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/srgb_g23_2.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/srgb_g23_2.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/srgb_g23_3.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/srgb_g23_3.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Xonotic 0.6 comes with <strong>sRGB lightmap rendering</strong> by default so maps have more natural, realistic lights and shadows. We also released a new version of our official map creator software netradiant with updated support for the (now default) sRGB compile method. In general this means that maps will have less extremely dark corners, and lights don&rsquo;t have to be as bright as before to light up the room.</p>
<h3 id="4-new-maps-to-frag-on">4 new maps to frag on</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301234709-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301234709-00-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301235011-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301235011-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301234931-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301234931-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301234850-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301234850-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120305235554-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120305235554-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120306001014-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120306001014-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120306001125-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120306001125-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226233028-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226233028-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226232929-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226232929-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226232910-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226232910-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226232727-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226232727-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231731-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231731-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231655-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231655-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231606-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231606-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231546-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231546-00.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Xonotic 0.6 ships with four new maps. <strong>Lightspeed</strong> is a fun, small CTF map best played with four people. Fans of Deathmatch, Freezetag or Minstagib will enjoy fragging in the blueish halls and corridors of <strong>Solarium</strong>. The competitive crowd will enjoy the 1v1 maps <strong>Drain</strong> and the remake of a classic Quake deathmatch map, <strong>Darkzone</strong>.</p>
<h3 id="new-weapon-models">New weapon models</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226230932-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226230932-00-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231019-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231019-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231400-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231400-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231204-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/xonotic20120226231204-00.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The <strong>Laser</strong> and the <strong>Minstanex</strong> have new high quality models. This was needed especially for the Minstanex, as its model was more than 3 years old&hellip; Either way, they follow along nicely with the goal of improving the models/appearance of the game.</p>
<h3 id="menu-redesign-and-translation-updates">Menu redesign and translation updates</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301233353-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301233353-00-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301233627-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301233627-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301233539-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301233539-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301233852-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301233852-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301234134-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120301234134-00.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>We have <strong>redesigned and simplified</strong> the menu interface so it&rsquo;s clear and convenient to use. We also paid great attention to the various translations of the menu text. And now support several languages (like Spanish, French, German and Hungarian) in the in-game messages. The menu is now available in Greek and Ukrainian as well!</p>
<h3 id="new-game-mode-sandbox">New game mode: Sandbox</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120306171033-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120306171033-00-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120306171025-00.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonotic20120306171025-00.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/woxblox03_06.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/woxblox03_06.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonoticnewyear2012_06.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/03/xonoticnewyear2012_06.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Xonotic 0.6 introduces the new, fun game mode called &ldquo;<strong>Sandbox</strong>&rdquo;. Use your imagination to create funny scenes with the playermodels, add your own ones, and share them with your friends, even online! This can also be very useful for development, or easily trying new things without hacking the code or opening up a map to edit it. Though Sandbox is currently still a bit limited, expect new features coming to it later!</p>
<h3 id="closing"><strong>Closing</strong></h3>
<p>Xonotic 0.6 demonstrates again the development power of a collaborative community of players and developers, where open discussions and knowledge commonly shared is the key for success. We&rsquo;d like to grab the opportunity to shout out a very big THANK YOU for our beloved community, players and fellow developers who made this release come true! Without all your constant input, (positive) criticism, dedication and friendship, Xonotic wouldn&rsquo;t be what it is today.</p>
Tourney news: 1v1 Grand finalshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/tourney-news-1v1-grand-finals/
Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:13:48 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/tourney-news-1v1-grand-finals/
<p>Hi folks!</p>
<p>We have great news for those who prefer the competitive side of Xonotic. First, let&rsquo;s take a look at the recent happenings since we last gave word about the ongoing Xonotic 1v1 tournament!</p>
<h3 id="semifinals-wb-and-lb-final-results">Semifinals, WB and LB final results</h3>
<p>The <em>semifinals</em> were played between <strong>fisume vs PCLizard</strong> and <strong>L0 vs Mirio</strong>, with PCLizard and L0 winning respectively. You can watch the matches along with their commentaries on <a href="http://en.twitch.tv/morfah/b/302150054">morfar&rsquo;s twitch.tv</a> account.</p>
<p>In the <em>winner brackets finals</em> <strong>PCLizard</strong> won against <strong>Lo</strong> after great fights on 3 separate maps (<em>Warfare</em>, <em>Xoylent</em> and <em>Final Rage</em>)****. You can watch the matches with commentaries from <strong>kojn</strong> and <strong>Mirio</strong> below:</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9E5ulN8hOLE"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eMx_qTUjkYg"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JPymuc-4JGQ"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>The <em>loser brackets</em> _finals _were played on the maps <em>Warfare</em> and <em>Darkzone</em> between <strong>fisume</strong> and <strong>L0</strong>, with the winner turning out to be fisume. With that win fisume earned a ticket to the grand finals! GG for both players and congrats to** L0**, who wins 3rd place in the tournament!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DBoAiEGT_wo"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gvHLccuhFaU"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<h3 id="grand-finals">Grand finals</h3>
<p>The first Xonotic 1v1 online tournament ends on <strong>Sunday 19.02.2012 20:00 CET</strong>, when <strong>fisume</strong> and <strong>PCLizard</strong> will have their ultimate showdown to decide who&rsquo;ll be the winner of the GRAND FINAL! The matches will be played at the regular place (the <strong><a href="http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=xonotic&amp;server=88.198.17.137:24446&amp;sort=name">eXile 1on1 Tournament Server X</a></strong>), and as usual, there will probably be a screencast too. For more information check out the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2177">tourney thread</a> on the official Xonotic forums, or join <a href="irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic">#xonotic</a> or <a href="irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic.pickup">#xonotic.pickup</a> on IRC (irc.quakenet.org)!</p>
<p>GL &amp; HF for <strong>fisume</strong> and <strong>PCLizard</strong>!</p>
<p> <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/grand_tourney.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/02/grand_tourney-500x375.jpg" alt="Be sure to pop some corn and join the fun @ Sunday 19.02.2012 20:00 CET!" /></a></p>
Public Xervice Announcementhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/public-xervice-announcement/
Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:31:39 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/public-xervice-announcement/
<p>We&rsquo;ve got some really important informations for mappers, please pay attention and spread the news! Over the past month or so, quite a lot of things have happened which concern mappers, and we just want to highlight the most important things for you guys so you understand the changes and can work with them in the future.</p>
<h3 id="map-picture-entities-info-autoscreenshot">Map picture entities: info_autoscreenshot</h3>
<p>We&rsquo;ve been contemplating for a long time a way for map screenshots to be done easier for the mappers and developers in a way that streamlines the process in the future and keeps the screenshots consistent and clean, so <strong>divVerent</strong> recently implement this. Basically, the way it works is by placing an entity on the map which contains an origin and view angle, and then the autobuild system (or maybe other parts of the game, like intermission perhaps in the future) will save the screenshot at that exact position.</p>
<p>There are basically 3 ways you can do this easily:</p>
<ol>
<li>Use a <strong><code>target_position</code></strong> entity together with an <strong><code>info_autoscreenshot</code></strong> entity which only needs origins. This method is best for netradiant, simply because you can create the mapshot without much effort at all, all you need to do is position the entities how you want and link them together with Ctrl + K.</li>
<li>Place the <strong><code>info_autoscreenshot</code></strong> entity, and then rotate it manually in netradiant to how you want it by using the rotate tool.</li>
<li>Use_ r_speeds _to get your desired origin and angles, and then manually create the entity with a text editor.</li>
</ol>
<p>You can see examples and the results of these on maps already in the game as of today, &ldquo;glowplant&rdquo; uses the first method</p>
<p><img src="http://rm.endoftheinternet.org/img/uploaded/71a89bb4ecd174d5b753e45222cddd42.png" alt="" /> and &ldquo;g-23&rdquo; uses the second.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/glowplant.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/glowplant-200x200.jpg" alt="Map glowplant" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/g-23.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/g-23-200x200.jpg" alt="Map g-23" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/glowplant-000000.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/glowplant-000000-200x200.jpg" alt="Map screenshot of glowplant" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/g-23-000000.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/g-23-000000-200x200.jpg" alt="Map screenshot of g-23" /></a></p>
<p>If the map is on the autobuild server, it will automatically make you screenshots using these map entities (up to 3 entities can be used at once). The screenshots are at 1024x1024 resolution, but <strong>you need to resize them manually to 512x512</strong> to use them as the mapshot. Unfortunately, the autobuild system cannot automatically pack the map shots into the pk3s as the screenshots are done after compilation/building, so you will still need to handle that yourself as well.</p>
<h3 id="new-netradiant-build-srgb-lighting">New NetRadiant build: sRGB lighting</h3>
<p>A new lighting method has been in the works for a bit now by <strong>divVerent</strong>, which basically uses more realistic color and shading calculations for the lightmaps created by q3map2 (you could already read about this in <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/wox-blox-issue-1-developer-news/">WoX-Blox #1</a>). It can in many cases be a major improvement to lighting on maps, and especially it helps with maps being too dark in some cases. Of course the mapper still has full control over lighting and can still make the map dark, BUT it needs to be pointed out that <strong>sRGB lighting is by default about 2.2 times brighter than normal lighting methods!</strong> Because of this, it cannot be simply &ldquo;slapped&rdquo; on to a map, unless you adjust the light radius and intensities appropriately.</p>
<p>You can use <a href="http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Q3Map2/Light">various light flags</a> to scale/adjust to compensate for this extra brightness, generally a factor of 0.4 or 0.5 would make the lighting look similar to the old style lightmaps.</p>
<p>Additionally, we have also produced a new build of NetRadiant for Windows users which has a few more features/tweaks/fixes since the last one, plus this new <strong>sRGB support enabled by default.</strong> (NOTE: Linux and OS X users have to compile it themselves using the git system, those platforms are impossible to build for different architectures normally) If you use this build version OR your map is on the autobuild server and you want your maps lighting to remain the same, you MUST use the &ldquo;-nosRGB&rdquo; flag! Otherwise, the lighting will default to sRGB, and that may be too bright for your map.</p>
<p>sRGB lighting for maps is certainly better when used properly, and it&rsquo;s the direction we want to go in the future, and we expect all default maps (and all new ones) to eventually switch to sRGB lighting. Currently the most notable ones that use it are: <em>Drain</em>, <em>Courtfun</em>, <em>g-23</em>, and <em>Darkzone</em>.</p>
<h3 id="bot-waypoint-editor-automatic-waypointing">Bot waypoint editor: Automatic waypointing</h3>
<p>Finally just a quick one about a feature we added to the waypoint editor. In addition to its old functionality, the waypoint editor can now <strong>automatically map the waypoints based on YOUR movement.</strong> Using the waypoint editor normally, enable _g_waypointeditor<em>auto</em> and just walk around all the various paths of the map. Once all paths are plotted, you will see a very natural plot which generally is far easier and much better than manually creating all of the plots. Depending on map size, it usually takes 5 minutes or so of just walking everywhere you can. Note that you should WALK slowly as bunnyhopping can distort the paths for bots.</p>
<p>Thank you for your attention, and again, please spread the news! If you have any question or just would like to comment this news, state them at the original announcement at the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2534">Xonotic forum</a>!</p>
WoX-BloX Issue #3 – Community newshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/wox-blox-issue-3-community-news/
Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:11:08 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/wox-blox-issue-3-community-news/
<p>Welcome! You&rsquo;re reading the third installment of <strong>WoX-BloX</strong>, the &ldquo;World of Xonotic Blogs&rdquo;! Development carries on at a crazy pace, and we barely have enough time outside of cleaning and polishing new maps, media, and code for the upcoming 0.6 release&hellip;</p>
<h3 id="what-what-is-this-version-0-6-of-which-you-speak">WHAT?!? WHAT IS THIS VERSION 0.6 OF WHICH YOU SPEAK?!?</h3>
<p>That&rsquo;s right folks, you&rsquo;ve read it correctly - <strong>Xonotic version 0.6 is on its way!</strong> We originally wanted to give it all to you for Christmas, but unfortunately <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2341"><strong>Samual</strong> got very ill in the middle of November</a> and was unable to contribute to the project at full scale. He&rsquo;s now back at 100% and is currently crushing nasty bugs. With development back on pace we <strong>expect Xonotic 0.6 to arrive in late January or mid-February</strong>.</p>
<p>Okay, now that I have made you excited enough, let&rsquo;s have a look at what our lovely community is up to! We have news, new and ongoing tournaments, exciting challanges and many more!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/woxblox03.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/woxblox03-1024x819.jpg" alt="Ignis reads Wox-Blox #3" /></a></p>
<h2 id="results-of-the-nexball-mapping-contest">Results of the Nexball mapping contest</h2>
<p>The Nexball mapping contest initiated by <strong>Cortez</strong> was fruitful, and once again proved that the community has a lot talented mappers. There were a total of 10 ball-bouncing maps submitted for judgement, and here are the results along with their download links:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.morphed.planetnexuiz.com/mayanball.pk3">Mayanball</a> by <strong>Morphed</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYnZzcg/swat-sd_v2.pk3">SWAT-SD</a> by <strong>nowego4</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31065422/Xonotic/bloodball_final.pk3">Bloodball</a> by** Maddin**</li>
<li><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31528944/dearbumperball.pk3">Dearbumperball</a> by <strong>Soelen</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYzBleQ">Gears&rsquo;n&rsquo;Balls</a> by <strong>freefang</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYnU2ZQ/aerial-match.pk3">Aerial-match</a> by <strong>forseti</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://beta.xonotic.org/autobuild-bsp/ariel-full-91dbb8090f6dbdeb34ffa1635835f5125fe51816-3700e87a03ff5eab4e9026c8dd0dc105607afedb.pk3">Ariel</a> by <strong>kuniu the frogg</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://www.peacebrothers.net/curl/nexball/nb_basket_case.pk3">Basket_Case</a> by <strong>PinkRobot</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYnc4eg">Dustball</a> by <strong>monad</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31528944/deardrugball.pk3">Deardrugball</a> by <strong>Soelen</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL CONTESTANTS!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/mayanball.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/mayanball-200x200.jpg" alt="Mayanball by Morphed" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/swat-sd.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/swat-sd-200x200.jpg" alt="SWAT-SD by nowego4" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bloodball.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bloodball-200x200.jpg" alt="Bloodball by Maddin" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bumperball.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bumperball-200x200.jpg" alt="Dearbumperball by Soelen" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/gearsnballs.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/gearsnballs-200x200.jpg" alt="Gears'n'Balls by freefang" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/aerial-match.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/aerial-match-200x200.jpg" alt="Aerial-match by forseti" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/ariel.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/ariel-200x200.jpg" alt="Ariel by kuniu the frogg" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/basket-case.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/basket-case-200x200.jpg" alt="Basket_Case by PinkRobot" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/dustball.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/dustball-200x200.jpg" alt="Dustball by monad" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/drugball.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/drugball-200x200.jpg" alt="Deardrugball by Soelen" /></a></p>
<p>For more <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2280&amp;pid=33334#pid33334">detailed rankings</a> and the reviews of the judges, take a look at the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2280&amp;pid=33334#pid33334">forum thread</a> of the Nexball mapping contest! If you&rsquo;d like to check out the maps online, feel free to hop in to <a href="http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=xonotic&amp;server=159.253.4.32:26000">Pink Robot&rsquo;s Lovely Nexball Server&rdquo; (IP: 159.253.4.32:26000)</a> and kick some balls! I&rsquo;m pretty sure you&rsquo;ll need a little exercise of virtual soccer and basketball in preparation for the announced&hellip;</p>
<h2 id="nexball-2v2-tournament-by-bot">Nexball 2v2 tournament by [BOT]</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bot-nexuiz.de.tl/">[BOT] clan</a> is at it again, organising a very promising and fun team challenge, the first ever <strong>2 vs 2 Nexball tourney</strong> of Xonotic!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bot_nexball.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bot_nexball.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><strong>General rules:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Gamemode: Nexball</li>
<li>Timelimit: 5 minutes</li>
<li>Fraglimit: No fraglimit</li>
<li>KO Stage (Single Elimination) - NO Groups!</li>
<li>Beggining of the tournament: After the Duel tourney (approx. 1st/2nd week in February)</li>
<li>Best of 5 (Bo5) (maxium 5 maps will be played and your team have to win 3 maps to be in the next round).</li>
<li>You can contact admins in IRC at #bot.xonotic or #xonotic.pickup</li>
<li>Server: <a href="http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=xonotic&amp;server=159.253.4.32:26000">Pink Robot&rsquo;s Lovely Nexball Server&rdquo; (IP: 159.253.4.32:26000)</a></li>
<li>Mumble server: shirkhan.dyndns.org:64740</li>
</ul>
<p>The map list will consist of the submitted maps from the Nexball mapping contest, with Mayanball being the first map of the finals. You can sign in to <a href="http://xoneu.tourney.cc/">http://xoneu.tourney.cc/</a> to find more information about the tournament and its rules. In case you don&rsquo;t have a team but you&rsquo;re willing to participate, or would like to discuss the tourney settings, hop in to the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2510"><strong>[Tourney] 2v2 Nexball</strong> </a>thread on the Xonotic forums and put your name in the hat!</p>
<h2 id="race-challange-by-cortez">Race challange by Cortez</h2>
<p><strong>Cortez</strong> continues his monthly race challanges, for January it&rsquo;s Capture the Flag race. Your goal is to do a capture on the map_ Tripzone_ (a CTF conversion of the classical DM map Darkzone) by <strong>divVerent</strong> as fast as possible. Beware - there is more to this map than meets the eye. This challenge is not an easy one, so good luck and have fun!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/tripzone1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/tripzone1-200x200.jpg" alt="Tripzone RED base" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/tripzone2.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/tripzone2-200x200.jpg" alt="Tripzone BLUE middle" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/tripzone3.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/tripzone3-200x200.jpg" alt="Tripzone NEUTRAL joint" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Rules:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>0.5 physics only!</strong></li>
<li>The fastest player has to make a <strong>demo or video</strong> to show off how he did it (so everyone gets a clue how to play that map).</li>
<li>Map download link: <a href="http://ompldr.org/vYzFsYg/tripzone.pk3">Tripzone</a></li>
<li>Deadline: 1st February!</li>
</ul>
<p>Post your times, videos or demos at the Xonotic forum: <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2489">The Race Challange - January</a>!
The winners for the multi-mapped December challange were <strong>Justin</strong>,** Sless and Mirio**. Congratulations! You can check out their time and the total rankings <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2384&amp;pid=32989#pid32989">here</a>.</p>
<h2 id="community-server-news"><strong>Community server news</strong></h2>
<p>We&rsquo;re more than happy to inform you about a new Xonotic Deathmatch server hosted by<a href="http://www.beer-garden.org/"> ++ The Beer Garden ++</a> (server IP address: <strong>174.37.44.42:26000</strong>)! Located in Dallas, the server adds another North American place to frag on, so players from the EU might have a bit higher ping around~150 (it&rsquo;s in the red zone, but still playable when I tested it). The server runs Xonotic version 0.5, and unfortunately doesn&rsquo;t gather statistics yet.</p>
<p><strong>Server Rules:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>No racial or blatent slurs of the like.</li>
<li>Don&rsquo;t be annoying…</li>
<li>No cheating</li>
<li>Be respecful.. this actually covers about all of &lsquo;em.</li>
</ol>
<p>You can find additional information on the <a href="http://www.beer-garden.org/xonotic-server/">official site of the server at The Beer Garden</a>, or at the <a href="http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=xonotic&amp;server=174.37.44.42:26000">Real-time Xonotic server list</a>. Original announcement can be found <a href="http://forum.beer-garden.org/index.php/topic,4006.0.html">here</a>.</p>
<p>After a small downtime, the <a href="http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=xonotic&amp;server=50.112.119.164:26000">Amazon EC2 0.5.0 CTS Server (us-west-2)</a> is back again to provide online defrag action for CTS fans in the US (the server is located in Oregon)! Very big thank you for <strong>liberty</strong> who paid another year for the EC2 cloud computation server. Have fun playing there!</p>
<h2 id="for-your-eyes-and-for-your-ears">For your eyes and for your ears</h2>
<p>Not a week goes by without somebody showing up with an awesome map, soundtrack, or model. December was no exception. <strong>Cortez</strong> finished his <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2449"><em>Bleach</em></a> retexturing project you could read about in the previous blog, <strong>Nestel</strong> released a surreal DM map with vehicles named <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1784"><em>Modern West Town</em></a>, and <strong>forseti</strong> brought us some new Assault action with <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2445"><em>Safe-District</em></a>. CTF fans can rejoice too, as <strong>kuniu the frogg</strong> released his <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2508"><em>Xoylent</em> CTF remake</a> based on the infamous Soylent CTF from Nexuiz. You can grab all the maps on the following links, though I suggest to keep an eye on those forum threads, as all maps might have future versions.</p>
<p><strong>Dowload links:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYnNoeg/bleach-b1_fix.pk3">Bleach b1</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.file-upload.net/download-4011646/modern_west_town_v2.pk3.html">Modern west Town</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYnRvZQ/safe-district_v2.pk3">Safe-District</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYzB1bQ/xoylent_ctf_b1.pk3">Xoylent CTF</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bleach01.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bleach01-200x200.jpg" alt="Bleach" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bleach02.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bleach02-200x200.jpg" alt="Bleach" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bleach03.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bleach03-200x200.jpg" alt="Bleach" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bleach04.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/bleach04-200x200.jpg" alt="Bleach" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/modern01.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/modern01-200x200.jpg" alt="Modern West Town" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/modern02.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/modern02-200x200.jpg" alt="Modern West Town" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/modern03.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/modern03-200x200.jpg" alt="Modern West Town" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/safe01.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/safe01-200x200.jpg" alt="Safe-District" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/safe02.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/safe02-200x200.jpg" alt="Safe-District" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/safe03.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/safe03-200x200.jpg" alt="Safe-District" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/xoylentctf01.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/xoylentctf01-200x200.jpg" alt="Xoylent CTF" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/xoylentctf02.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/xoylentctf02-200x200.jpg" alt="Xoylent CTF" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/xoylentctf03.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/xoylentctf03-200x200.jpg" alt="Xoylent CTF" /></a></p>
<p>Better late than never, <strong>D_W</strong> fulfilled an old promise of his and provided us with alternate sound effects. His first mini pack has various sounds, but mostly ones involving item pickups. Included are armour and general item pickup sounds, item respawn, jump pad, gib, and gib splat sounds. You can download his work <a href="http://uploading.com/files/b7b345m2/Sound%2BMini%2BPack%2B01.rar/">here</a>. For sources and feedback please visit his thread of &ldquo;<a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2498">D_W&rsquo;s Sound Effect Extravaganza (and Brainstorming) Thread</a>&rdquo; on the forum. Thanks <strong>D_W</strong>!</p>
<h2 id="if-you-have-a-second-life">If you have a second life&hellip;</h2>
<p><em>&ldquo;Erebus got fed up with having to fight in the arenas all the time. He wanted a little peace and a fun place to relax, to take a break from Xonotic and all the shooting. After some searching, he decided that a good place would be the Second Life virtual world, especially the open-source grids. So he took himself a vacation from all the fighting, and went to try out the experience of being a SL avatar.&rdquo;</em></p>
<p>A while ago, <a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> implemented mesh support for avatars, allowing meshes to get rigged to the avatar skeleton and worn. Since the models in Xonotic are GPL, <strong>MirceaKitsune</strong> ported Erebus and his Xonotic Pony and Vixen models from <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/voretournament/">Vore tournament</a> (Warning: slightly NSFW) as a test.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/erebus_sl01.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/erebus_sl01-200x200.jpg" alt="Erebus in Second Life" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/erebus_sl02.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/erebus_sl02-200x200.jpg" alt="On the beach" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/erebus_sl03.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/erebus_sl03-200x200.jpg" alt="Ommmmm...." /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/erebus_sl04.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/erebus_sl04-200x200.jpg" alt="Where do I want to go today?" /></a></p>
<p>If you&rsquo;d like to find out more about getting the models as your avatar in Second Life (or you&rsquo;d just like to add some comments about it), you&rsquo;re more than welcome to do so <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2484">here</a> in the Xonotic forum.</p>
<h2 id="closing-words">Closing words</h2>
<p>That&rsquo;s all for the 3rd issue of Wox-BloX, folks! I hope you enjoyed all the community related news and got excited about the new upcoming release of Xonotic 0.6. Good luck/have fun fragging and racing, and don&rsquo;t forget to sign up for the tournaments and challenges. See you next time!</p>
Happy New Year!http://xonotic.org/posts/2012/happy-new-year/
Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:08:21 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2012/happy-new-year/
<h2 id="team-xonotic-would-like-to-wish-you-and-all-your-beloved-ones-a-happy-new-year-in-2012">Team Xonotic would like to wish you and all your beloved ones a Happy New Year in 2012!</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/xonoticnewyear2012.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/01/xonoticnewyear2012-1024x819.jpg" alt="Happy New Year 2012!" /></a></p>
<p>Just wait until you see what we&rsquo;ve got planned this year ;-)</p>
Xonotic videos rounduphttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-videos-roundup/
Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:39:12 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-videos-roundup/
<p>It seems our community really caught the gameplay video bug! I&rsquo;m happy to present you with more than 3 hours of action-packed Xonotic movies! WOW! Move your most comfy armchair in front of your PC, gather up some nachos, pop some corn, and have fun watching these videos!</p>
<h3 id="xonotic-public-deathmatch-for-the-masses">Xonotic public Deathmatch for the masses</h3>
<p><strong>C.Brutail</strong> has recorded an intense battle of public deathmatch, recorded at Kababunka server. The server runs game version 0.5, however for the video recording the development version was used allowing you to see some of the new graphical features under development now.</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rATAtep5Mkw"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<h3 id="1v1-commentaries-by-antibody-kojn-and-mirio-for-the-1337">1v1 commentaries by Antibody, kojn, and Mirio for the 1337**</h3>
<p>**</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re into competitive gameplay, I have three new face to face commentaries from <strong>Antibody</strong>, <strong>kojn</strong> and <strong>Mirio</strong> to show you. The first one is a very thrilling pickup match featuring <strong>Mirio</strong> vs <strong>PCLizard</strong> on the reworked map &ldquo;Downer&rdquo; by <strong>Cortez</strong>. It&rsquo;s really exciting - a must see!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4ggZeV1ahP8"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>The second video is a practice match between <strong>PCLizard</strong> and <strong>fisume</strong> commentated by <strong>kojn</strong> and <strong>Mirio</strong>. In this video, the battle takes place on the Xonotic version of the classic Quake map Darkzone, and it was a practice match for their then upcoming tourney match. Watch how each player&rsquo;s strategy develops in this down-to-the-second thriller!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E1epj5I1efo"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>Lastly, here comes the big boom! The archived screencast of the semi finals of the [BOT] 1v1 Online Tournament in online, boasting a whopping <strong>2 full hours</strong> of Xonotic action! In the beginning of the screencast you can listen to some pulsating Xonotic music <em>Northern Lights</em> composed by <strong>Sc0rp</strong> followed by <em>Traveler</em> and <em>Quiet</em> by <strong>blkrbt</strong>. From 10:53 you can watch <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/deathmatchers-the-movie/"><strong>kojn&rsquo;s</strong> fragmovie entitled <em>Deathmatchers</em></a>, and from roughly 22:08 the live commentary of the semi-finals with <strong>PCLizard</strong> vs <strong>fisume</strong>, and <strong>L0</strong> vs. <strong>Mirio</strong>. You can find the video at <a href="http://en.twitch.tv/morfah/b/302150054">morfar&rsquo;s twitch.tv account</a>.</p>
<p>Have fun watching!</p>
Xonotic 1v1 Tourney semi finals!http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-1v1-tourney-semi-finals/
Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:35:58 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-1v1-tourney-semi-finals/<p>As you probably already know, [BOT] clan organised an online 1v1 tournament in the beginning of the fall, and the matches are coming along very nicely! The tournament has already progressed to the brackets of the semi finals with:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/12/fisume_vs_pcl.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/12/fisume_vs_pcl-1024x819.jpg" alt="[BOT] tournament semi finalists: fisume vs PCLizard" /></a></p>
<p><strong>fisume vs PCLizard</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/12/lo_vs_mirio.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/12/lo_vs_mirio-1024x819.jpg" alt="[BOT] tournament semi finalists: L0 vs Mirio" /></a></p>
<p><strong>L0 vs Mirio</strong></p>
<p><strong>The semi finals will start on:
Friday, December 9th at 10pm CET / 9pm GMT / 4pm EST</strong></p>
<p>The server for the semi final will be held at ﻿<strong><a href="http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=xonotic&amp;server=88.198.17.137:24446&amp;sort=name">eXile 1on1 Tournament Server X</a></strong>. The server has 14 spectator slots, so if you want to follow the battles for yourself, you&rsquo;re free to do so! If you don&rsquo;t have Xonotic installed, fear not, as <strong>kojn</strong> and Mirio (when he&rsquo;s not playing of course ;) ) will give you <strong>LIVE streamed commentary</strong> at <a href="http://en.twitch.tv/morfah/">http://en.twitch.tv/morfah/</a> (big thx goes to <strong>morfar</strong>).</p>
<p>So buckle up folks, grab some popcorn and a cold beer, and get ready for some epic duels! Don&rsquo;t forget to join <a href="irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic">#xonotic</a> or <a href="irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic.pickup">#xonotic.pickup</a> on IRC (irc.quakenet.org) before the matches, as some of the aforementioned details might be a subject of change (most likely not, but those will most likely be anounced on IRC).</p>
<p>GL &amp; HF for the contestants!</p>
<p><em>Artifex armifer digitis dextris, oculis occultis!</em></p>
WoX-BloX Issue #2 - Community newshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/wox-blox-issue-2-community-news/
Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:40:59 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/wox-blox-issue-2-community-news/
<p>Heyya folks!</p>
<p>Welcome back reading WoX-BloX! For those who are still not familiar what this is all about, let me introduce the <strong>World of Xonotic Blogs</strong>, where you can get the latest news about Xonotic, let it be either about development, tournaments, or other cool Xonotic related happenings. In this issue the we&rsquo;ll cover up some of the most important buzz happening in our beloved community.</p>
<h3 id="global-gamers-5-years-anniversary">Global Gamers 5 years anniversary</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.globalgamers.net/"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/gg-logo.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>As you could read in <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/global-gamers-turns-5-celebrates-with-xonotic/">a previous blog post</a>, 11/11/11, Global Gamers officially turned 5 years old! Global Gamers is an IRC network formed on a simple concept: gaming should be fun! To promote that fun they host multiple game servers for classics like Quake2 as well as cutting-edge hits like BF3, and of course, Xonotic! On 12th November as a part of their celebrational events they held a four-match Xonotic free-for-all contest. The matches for the contest were a blast, with participants from AU, US and EU too!
The first three winners were:</p>
<ol>
<li>fisume^ (459 points)</li>
<li>ChaLK (420 points)</li>
<li>CrancK (347 points)</li>
</ol>
<p>Congratulations to the winners, and GG for all the other <strong>25 players</strong> who celebrated with Global Gamers! You can find <strong>demos from fisume^&rsquo;s point of view</strong> <a href="http://uploaded.to/file/bsrar33g">here</a>, and a complete list with endgame screenshots of all participants with their scores <a href="http://www.globalgamers.net/gg-xonotic-scores.zip">here</a>. Also, Jehar from <a href="http://tastyspleen.tv/">TastySpleenTV</a> has made a very nice screencast commentary lasting more than two hours!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.own3d.tv/TastyspleenTV#/watch/278491">Jehar&rsquo;s screencast Part1 @ own3D.tv</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.own3d.tv/TastyspleenTV#/watch/278560">Jehar&rsquo;s screencast Part2 @ own3D.tv</a></p>
<h3 id="1on1-tourney-by-bot">1on1 Tourney by [BOT]</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-1v1-tournament-by-bot/">As we&rsquo;ve reported a few weeks ago</a>, [BOT] is organising a 1on1 tournament. The <a href="http://xonduel.tourney.cc/groups/">groups stage</a> is already over, the tournament participants are now battling in <a href="http://xonduel.tourney.cc/brackets/">brackets</a> in double elimination system. Unfortunately, a few contestants have dropped out in the groups stage: <strong>Debugger, itsme, Halogene, ai, mepper, C.Brutail, aNictS, Lord Canistra, Calinou, Samual, qbit, naryl and Vargos</strong>. <strong>s0rk</strong> and <strong>FruitieX</strong> were eliminated in the first rounds of the brackets stage. GG for them, and thanks for participating!
If you&rsquo;d like to follow and spectate the matches, don&rsquo;t forget to join <a href="irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic.pickup">the xonotic pickup channel</a> on IRC (#xonotic.pickup @ irc.quakenet.org), the usual meeting and gathering point of the contestants, so you might be able to catch the starting of the matches!</p>
<h3 id="the-race-challenge">The Race Challenge</h3>
<p><strong>The Race Challenge</strong> is a very unique monthly community contest organised by <strong>Cortez</strong>. As the name suggests, the participants have to try to beat eachother and the clock in &ldquo;race&rdquo; game mode: they have to run through checkpoints on maps as fast as possible. The first challenge was held in February and ever since then Cortez has announced it every month, providing a great deal of entertainment for the players. November&rsquo;s announced challenge was** Speedy-Lane** by <strong>FruitieX</strong> and <strong>Cortez</strong>.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/6r3e56kceotjiob153b5.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/6r3e56kceotjiob153b5-500x400.jpg" alt="Speedy-Lane by FruitieX and Cortez" /></a></p>
<p>The challenge attracted many players in November too: **Mirio, Leeloo, Justin, kunio the frogg, sev, Halogene, It&rsquo;sMe, Sless, Grunt, nowego4, Dissolves, nifrek, <strong>and</strong> Soelen**. Soelen has also recorded a Youtube video that shows his <em>mad trickjumping skillz</em>, and how he beat the map with in just 13:37 seconds with the help of some imaginary friends ;) (WARNING! Video is slightly <strong>NSFW</strong>, and features harsh language).</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g_wqpGsxFos"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>Besides that hilarious video, <strong>the winner in November was nifrek with a time of 0:17:42!!</strong></p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AobeAQM4f8w"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>As usual, Cortez has already announced the challenge for December, this time with multiple maps to complete (map names are also download links if you&rsquo;d like to check out them and take part in the race):</p>
<ol>
<li>stormkeeprace - one of the official race maps included in Xonotic 0.5.</li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYmo2Yw/warfare_race.pk3">warfarerace</a> - <strong>Pinkrobot</strong> made this adaptation back in 2008 and now it&rsquo;s updated it for Xonotic!</li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYmo2ZA/slalom.pk3">Slalom</a> - by <strong>FruitieX.</strong></li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYmo2ZQ/streetrace.pk3">Streetrace</a> - by <strong>Pinkrobot</strong>, which is also retextured for the race challenge.</li>
<li><a href="http://ompldr.org/vYmo2Zw/darkzonerace.pk3">darkzonerace</a> - Cortez applied the old sheme from <strong>divVerent</strong> and <strong>FruitieX</strong> to his darkzone remake.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Rules:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>0.5 physics only!</li>
<li>The fastest player has to make a demo or video to show off how he done it (so everyone gets a clue how to play that map)!</li>
<li>Deadline: 1st January.</li>
</ul>
<p>Don&rsquo;t forget to post your times at the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2384">official Xonotic forum</a>!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/stormkeeprace.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/stormkeeprace-200x200.jpg" alt="Stormkeeprace" /></a> <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/warfarerace.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/warfarerace-200x200.jpg" alt="Warfarerace" /></a> <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/slalom.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/slalom-200x200.jpg" alt="Slalom" /></a> <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/streetrace.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/streetrace-200x200.jpg" alt="Streetrace" /></a> <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/darkzonerace.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/darkzonerace-200x200.jpg" alt="Darkzonerace" /> </a></p>
<h3 id="nexball-mapping-contest">Nexball mapping contest</h3>
<p>Xonotic has a very fun, though unfortunately underplayed game mode, called <strong>Nexball</strong>, originally <a href="http://archive.alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&amp;t=2389">developed for Nexuiz by Revenant</a>, later <a href="http://archive.alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&amp;t=4172">recoded by MrBougo</a>. The goal of the game mode is simple: you have to score points for your team in a soccer or basketball/handball style ballgame.
However, with currently two maps in the official mappool (and one of them is pretty much broken actually) and one in the works, there&rsquo;s a real need for some more ball fields to play on. To invite mappers to produce new nexball maps for a <em>possible tournament in the future</em>, <strong>Cortez</strong> announced a **Nexball mapping contest! **The prize for the winner will be that his map will be played exclusively in the final, while other submissions will most likely end up as normal maps in the tourney.
The team of judges will consist of <strong>Antibody</strong>, <strong>MirceaKitsune</strong> and <strong>merlijn</strong>.
The rules are quiet simple:</p>
<ul>
<li>It has to be a nexball map</li>
<li>Has to be optimized for a 2on2</li>
<li>Maps with more then 1 ball are ok, but the limit is 50 balls per map. Otherwise the map won&rsquo;t be accepted.</li>
<li>The theme of the map is up to you.</li>
<li>Be creative!</li>
</ul>
<p>Deadline: 2nd January 2012 23:59 GMT +1</p>
<p>There are already some submission, but keep up those maps coming folks, this tourney will be a great fun! To get you inspired, here are some screenshots, that were submitted by** Morphed**, <strong>nowego4</strong> and <strong>forseti:</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/g3tho16lqupuplhyfvu.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/g3tho16lqupuplhyfvu-200x200.jpg" alt="Morphed's Mayaball" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/de8fvb3w3i3gdt5gh1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/de8fvb3w3i3gdt5gh1-200x200.jpg" alt="nowego4's SWAT-SD" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/vh3oopu0olb5g1taarma.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/vh3oopu0olb5g1taarma-200x200.jpg" alt="forseti's submission" /></a></strong></p>
<p>If you have any questions regarding Nexball mapping, feel free to ask on <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2280">the contest&rsquo;s thread on the forum</a>, or join <a href="irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic.editing">#xonotic.editing @ irc.quakenet.org</a> on IRC.</p>
<h3 id="creativity-in-the-community-models-maps-and-audio-oh-my">Creativity in the community: Models, maps and audio OH MY</h3>
<p>I don&rsquo;t even know where to start with this section on WoX-BloX, there are just so much awesome creative minds in our beloved community, kudos where it&rsquo;s due, realy, you guys are just amazing! The first thing to mention is&hellip; well&hellip; it&rsquo;s weird. In a good way. Or not, you decide, I&rsquo;m not into this meme at all.</p>
<p><strong>&ldquo;My Little Pony&rdquo;</strong>
Ponies. With guns. Ponies&hellip;.<strong>Xonotic PONIES!</strong> MirceaKitsune has created a set of adorable MLP models that you can use in the game. Let&rsquo;s join the fun, jump around, sing happy songs, dance, fling shotguns or just simply blow eachother to smithereens in My Little Xonotic Pony models!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IZYbusZeUXY"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>You can get the latest version (v3 by the time of posting the blog) of the models <a href="http://www.filedropper.com/xmdl-ponyv30">here</a>, but always check the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2040">My little pony&hellip; Xonotic pony? thread</a> on the forum for updates.</p>
<p><strong>WIP weapon models</strong>
Though they&rsquo;re still early and a work in progress, I shall advise you all to keep a close eye on <strong>anark10n</strong>&rsquo;s weapon models. Early screenshots, but to be honest, I&rsquo;d realy like to see some of these badass tools of destruction sometime ingame too! Keep up the good work!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/energy_gun_side.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/energy_gun_side-200x200.png" alt="&quot;Energy gun&quot; by anark10n" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/energy_gun_front.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/energy_gun_front-200x200.png" alt="&quot;Energy gun&quot; by anark10n" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/energy_gun_fps.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/energy_gun_fps-200x200.png" alt="&quot;Energy gun&quot; by anark10n" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/shotgun_02_side.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/shotgun_02_side-200x200.png" alt="&quot;Shotgun 2&quot; by anark10n" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/shotgun_02_front.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/shotgun_02_front-200x200.png" alt="&quot;Shotgun 2&quot; by anark10n" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/shotgun_02_fps.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/shotgun_02_fps-200x200.png" alt="&quot;Shotgun 2&quot; by anark10n" /></a></p>
<p>You can see even more of anark10n&rsquo;s work in his post of the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=69&amp;pid=31840#pid31840">Screenshots of what you&rsquo;re doing</a> thread on the forum.</p>
<p><strong>Remake of &ldquo;Bleach&rdquo; map</strong>
On mapping grounds <strong>Cortez</strong> is at it again (from where the hell does this guy get all his energy and free time anyway :D), with a retexturing project of a well known good old Nexuiz map <strong>Bleach</strong> with the <em>exomorph</em> texture set.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/exo1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/exo1-200x200.jpg" alt="Bleach retextured by Cortez #1" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/exo2.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/exo2-200x200.jpg" alt="Bleach retextured by Cortez #2" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/exo3.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/exo3-200x200.jpg" alt="Bleach retextured by Cortez #3" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/exo4.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/exo4-200x200.jpg" alt="Bleach retextured by Cortez #4" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Remake of &ldquo;Aggressor&rdquo; map</strong>
Another classic map we all know and love named <strong>Aggressor</strong> is being remade by <strong>nifrek</strong> here with the new exomorph texture pack by Morphed, giving this map a fresh new style while keeping the same great gameplay. Currently of course it&rsquo;s still a work in progress, but it looks very promising&hellip; to check it out yourself, visit the <a href="http://beta.xonotic.org/autobuild-bsp/">map autobuild server</a> and download the latest &ldquo;aggressorx&rdquo; build today!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/aggressorx.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/aggressorx-500x375.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><strong>New CTF map work in progress</strong>
It seems when <strong>Justin</strong> is not zooming back and forth with bunny hops on race maps, he likes to try out his skills in brush building also, and I have to say, he has some talent there too!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/justin.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/justin-200x200.jpg" alt="Justin's WIP map #1" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/justin2.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/justin2-200x200.jpg" alt="Justin's WIP map #2" /></a></p>
<p><strong>New DM map &ldquo;Quad Generator&rdquo;</strong>
If you&rsquo;ve ever wondered, where do Strenght items come from, <strong>Leeloo</strong> gives you the answer: they are of course produced in the <strong>Quad Generator</strong> facility! I realy dig the visuals and the overall feel of this map, very great job, you should download it and give it a try! The map is still WIP, but it&rsquo;s in a very playable condition. If you&rsquo;ve found a bug, or you have some suggestions for Leeloo how he can even further improve the map, don&rsquo;t be shy to post about it in <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2231">the map&rsquo;s thread on the forum</a>!</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000489.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000489-200x200.jpg" alt="The Quad Generator by Leeloo #1" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000486.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000486-200x200.jpg" alt="The Quad Generator by Leeloo #2" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000490.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000490-200x200.jpg" alt="The Quad Generator by Leeloo #3" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000491.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000491-200x200.jpg" alt="The Quad Generator by Leeloo #4" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000492.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000492-200x200.jpg" alt="The Quad Generator by Leeloo #5" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Strange new DM map &ldquo;Hyperspace&rdquo;</strong>
Do you like warpzones? <strong>ThePWTULN</strong> sure does, and his new map named <strong>Hyperspace</strong> does have a few of them. This stylish deathmatch map aims to have simple, yet stunning TRON-esque visuals, and features interesting non-euclidean map geometry.</p>
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type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ORh6NfQRDxg"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
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<p>Hyperspace is still in BETA stage, but feel free to <a href="http://ompldr.org/vYjlpbQ">download</a> it, and tell ThePWTULN your opinions about the map <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2336">on the forum</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Another strange new map &ldquo;Geodasic&rdquo;</strong>
Last, but not least, <strong>Nodenum</strong> has created a very interesting experimental map called <strong>Geodasic</strong>. The speciality of the map is that as it&rsquo;s creator tells it was <strong>fully generated with experimental C++ code entirely!</strong> The map is a single big geodesic sphere filled with jump pads and some weapons. Seems like Sierpinski finally got it&rsquo;s successor&hellip; ;) You can download the map <a href="http://xwmw.org/xonotic_maps/packages/geodesic.pk3">here</a>, and if you liked it, or you have to comment to add, shout it out at <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2330">Geodasic&rsquo;s forum thread</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000480.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000480-200x200.jpg" alt="Geodasic by Nodenum #1" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000482.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000482-200x200.jpg" alt="Geodasic by Nodenum #2" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Voice acting by bitbomb</strong>
Prepare your eardrums folks, &lsquo;cause <strong>bitbomb</strong> is here with some announcer and character voices! Stepping out of nowhere, bitbomb&rsquo;s first forum post ever was offering his help and showing his great work of proposed character taunts and some realy booming annoucer voices - now that&rsquo;s what I call giving a good first impression of yourself :D You can listen to his work of <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2313">announcer sounds</a> and <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2314">character taunts</a> on the forum, and while at it, please give him some feedback too. ;)</p>
<h3 id="closing">Closing</h3>
<p>I have to thank everybody who contributed to the project by any means from the community, let it be a simple texture, a line of code, maps, models, sounds, artwork, some funny comments or feedback on the forum etc. You&rsquo;re great folks, it&rsquo;s a pleasure to play with you and develop Xonotic for good guys like ya all! Finally, feel free to listen to core team developers <strong>Samual</strong> and <strong>divVerent</strong>&rsquo;s new songs on piano linked below</p>
<p><a href="http://samual.nexuizninjaz.com/sounds/Intrepid%20Dream.mp3">Intrepid Dream.mp3 by Samual - 5mb - 2 minutes 56 seconds</a></p>
<p><a href="http://soundcloud.com/halogene/divverents-sonata-no-3">divVerent&rsquo;s Sonata No.3 played by Halogene on Soundcloud</a></p>
Xonotic Duel Commentary by Antibodyhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-duel-commentary-by-antibody/
Sun, 27 Nov 2011 21:19:47 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-duel-commentary-by-antibody/<p>Hello folks!</p>
<p>As you could read previously, there&rsquo;s an <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-1v1-tournament-by-bot/">online 1on1 tournament</a> on the fly, organised by the <strong>[BOT] clan</strong>. The groups are already played out, and the combatants have moved on to the brackets stage (you can read about this a lot more in detail soon in <em>WoX-BloX issue # 2</em>! ;) ).
Though the matches don&rsquo;t have set dates, there are always a lot spectators watching over the duels with great attention. As <strong>Antibody</strong> <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2177&amp;pid=30671#pid30671">once promised</a>, he has done an audio commentary of a duel between two experienced Xonotic players: <strong>kojn</strong> and <strong>fisume</strong>.</p>
<p>Have fun watching!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x_QUxA8_mpI"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>If you&rsquo;d like to spectate a match, be sure to join the <a href="irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic.pickup">Xonotic pickup channel</a> on IRC (#xonotic.pickup @ irc.quakenet.org) so you don&rsquo;t miss the start.
Additionally, you can discuss this video on the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2371">official Xonotic forums</a>.</p>
WoX-BloX Issue #1 - Developer newshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/wox-blox-issue-1-developer-news/
Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:33:13 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/wox-blox-issue-1-developer-news/
<p>Hello folks!</p>
<p>So, as we&rsquo;ve promised, here&rsquo;s the first real issue of WoX-BloX! For those who&rsquo;ve missed the <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/good-news-everyone/">good news</a>, WoX-BloX translates to &ldquo;World of Xonotic - Blogs&rdquo;: an insider developer blog for the masses, so you don&rsquo;t have to mess with reading cryptic <a href="https://gitlab.com/groups/xonotic">git commit logs</a>, go treasure hunting in the depths of our <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org">forums</a>, or lurk for hours on the <a href="irc://irc.freenode.net/xonotic">developers&rsquo; IRC channel</a> for information morsels to feed your hunger for Xonotic WIP news (however, you&rsquo;re welcomed to do so, if you want :D ).</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/woxbloxpress-500x375.jpg" alt="What's cookin', Doc?" /></p>
<h2 id="development-news">Development news</h2>
<h3 id="xonstat">XonStat</h3>
<p>The first and most important news to share is the availability of the long awaited statistics system by Antibody, <strong>XonStat</strong>. It&rsquo;s main purpose is to take game data (frags, deaths, captures, weapon accuracy, etc. etc.) and store them in a way that can be viewed at a later time. The aim of the project is to provide a place where players can see how they improve over time or remember the fun times they had. The main backend of the stats setup is based on a PostGreSQL database of Antibody&rsquo;s design (who is a DBA in real life), and the frontend and submission parts of the application are written in Python using the Pyramid web application framework which is given data transferred by POST requests from authorized Xonotic servers using divVerent&rsquo;s blind_id library. Additionally, because of the private identification of servers/players and security of the system, it makes it that much more difficult to cheat the system which helps keep the statistics clean and free of hacks and otherwise mistakes.</p>
<p>The stats testing system can be found at <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org/">http://stats.xonotic.org/</a>. It&rsquo;s still heavily work in progress and has several flaws - this means that it will be taken down periodically for maintenance and bugfixes. The data being stored there should also be considered temporary, as it will be purged when we go from testing to stable. Still, it is a major step forward with the project and it is important to test and get criticism on during its early developmental stage.</p>
<p>Antibody had a lot help along the way. He received wonderful game icons from JayWalker and a theme from -z-. divVerent, Samual, and FruitieX have all helped getting the Xonotic server code up to par with his enhancement requests. Mirio, asyyy, and Mepper have been great at finding bugs and submitting enhancements. Because of their collective efforts we now have a system that captures accuracy and scoreboard data. Kudos to all these great people, thank you very much guys! Below you can see some of the icons currently used in the application contribute by JayWalker:</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/dm.png" alt="Deathmatch icon made by JayWalker" /><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/ctf.png" alt="Capture the flag icon made by JayWalker" /><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/tdm.png" alt="Team Deathmatch icon made by JayWalker" /></p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/duel.png" alt="1v1 icon made by JayWalker" /><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/lms.png" alt="Last Man Standing icon made by JayWalker" /><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/ft.png" alt="Freezetag icon made by JayWalker" /></p>
<h3 id="speaking-of-statistics">Speaking of statistics&hellip;</h3>
<p>We encourage server owners to work with us and help us test the system, and you can help out too by just setting one cvar (console variable) in your server configuration file:</p>
<pre><code>g_playerstats_uri &quot;http://stats.xonotic.org/stats/submit&quot;
</code></pre>
<p>Additionally, there are a few cvars which clients may need to adjust manually if you&rsquo;re playing from the Xonotic 0.5 release&hellip; Reason being that these cvars are not default in Xonotic 0.5 release, and you have to set them manually (by dropping down the console with SHIFT+ESC, and typing in these commands). In future releases, we will have these options both in the menu and asked of you the first time you play the game.</p>
<pre><code>cl_allow_uid2name: &quot;1&quot; means your name will be shown, &quot;0&quot; means it will NOT be shown.
cl_allow_uidtracking: &quot;1&quot; means you will be tracked across games using an ID (called a hashkey), &quot;0&quot; means you will NOT.
</code></pre>
<p>Of course, configure these how you see fit&hellip; For testing purposes though, we would appreciate you enabling both of them so we can better work with the data directly.</p>
<h3 id="srgb-lightmaps"><strong>sRGB lightmaps</strong></h3>
<p>There&rsquo;s a major fixing of the rendering of map lighting that divVerent is working on: <strong>sRGB lightmap encoding.</strong> Oh, come on, don&rsquo;t give me that face, I&rsquo;ll explain it right away what it does! In real life, lights have 1/r^2 falloff (and q3map2 emulates that too). This means, if you move away from the light source, the intensity of the light decreases linearly in an exponential way: the double the distance, the quarter the light intensity.</p>
<p>Ok, are you still with me? Good. But, here comes the problem: light values on your screen are not linear. In fact, the quarter the light value is actually 21th (!) the light intensity. This produces overshadowed, and unrealistically sharp lighting in maps. sRGB lighmap encoding fixes this issue, so we&rsquo;ll have more natural, more realistic lights, that modern engines like CryEngine render. Here are some screenshots to demonstrate the effect (before and after).</p>
<p>Note: The greyish tint is actually due to a bug where the lights don&rsquo;t use the proper color tinting values, this bug was fixed by the time of this post, so pay no attention to it for now and simply look at the lighting/shadowing.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/3n.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/3n-200x200.jpg" alt="G-23 without sRGB render #1" /></a> <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/3s.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/3s-200x200.jpg" alt="G-23 with sRGB render #1" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/wox-blox-issue-1-developer-news/4n.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/4n-200x200.jpg" alt="G-23 without sRGB render #2" /></a> <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/4s.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/4s-200x200.jpg" alt="G-23 with sRGB render #2" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/wox-blox-issue-1-developer-news/5n.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/5n-200x200.jpg" alt="G-23 without sRGB render #3" /></a> <a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/5s.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/5s-200x200.jpg" alt="G-23 with sRGB render #3" /></a></p>
<p>This might not get fully in our next release, simply because this is not only an engine change, but maps have to be re-lit too to take full effect (adding more targetted spotlight style ligths instead of floating ones).</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;d like to see this cool new feature for yourself ingame, here are the git branches you need to check out:
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/darkplaces.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/divVerent/srgbfixes">xonotic/darkplaces.git/divVerent/srgbfixes</a>
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/divVerent/enable-srgb">xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git/divVerent/enable-srgb</a>
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-maps.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/divVerent/sRGB">xonotic/xonotic-maps.pk3dir.git/divVerent/sRGB</a></p>
<h3 id="gamecommand-codebase-overhauled">Gamecommand codebase overhauled</h3>
<p>Samual ﻿is making the gamecommand system simplier (like &ldquo;gametype&rdquo;, &ldquo;cointoss&rdquo;, &ldquo;gotomap&rdquo; just to name a few), and improving the help system, plus adding new commands and new features which almost everyone can benefit from. From a developer standpoint, it&rsquo;ll be much easier and cleaner to add new commands once he&rsquo;s fnished this tremendous work. <a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git;a=blob_plain;f=qcsrc/server/gamecommand.qc;h=1c69eced60f4c66bbe740a04f6aaaa7352a51a68;hb=refs/heads/samual/updatecommands">Here</a> you can see an example of the already reworked code for server side commands. If you desire to tinker around with the codebase, here&rsquo;s the development branch:</p>
<p><a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/samual/updatecommands">xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git/samual/updatecommands</a></p>
<h3 id="new-maps-lightspeed-and-8-bit-arena-wip">New maps: Lightspeed and 8-bit Arena (WIP)</h3>
<p>The next release will also have a new map to frag your opponents to fleshy gibs: <strong>Lightspeed</strong> by C.Brutail! The map is a small, 1v1 or 2v2 CTF map, that features brutal fast gameplay and the not yet used <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=337">facility114 texture set</a> made by Oblivion. It also has randomly triggered sound effects for lightning, a mapping feature divVerent developed on mapper request especially for this map (in fact, randomisation can be used on all triggers, see entity info or the map sources for explanation and details).</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000460.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000460-200x200.jpg" alt="Red base of Lightspeed" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000464.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000464-200x200.jpg" alt="Blue Base" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000461.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000461-200x200.jpg" alt="Mega health on crossbridge" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000463.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000463-200x200.jpg" alt="Blue upper hallway" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000465.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000465-200x200.jpg" alt="Red Base hallway" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000462.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000462-200x200.jpg" alt="Blue window" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000466.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000466-200x200.jpg" alt="Facility 114" /></a></p>
<p><strong>8-bit Arena</strong> is a multy gamemod map, still in WIP status. The map will support deathmatch, capture the flag, and nexball gamemods. It was built a very unique 8-bit style with retro gaming references, and homages made to a classic and beautiful era of computer history. The map also features a very cool, conceptual eye-candy element: touch sensitive floor tiles! There&rsquo;s still some quite work left to do on the map, but you can always check out the latest version from the <a href="http://beta.xonotic.org/autobuild-bsp/?d">automatic map compile server</a>. For technical details, see and check out the branch:
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-maps.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/cbrutail/map-8bit_arena">xonotic/xonotic-maps.pk3dir.git/cbrutail/map-8bit_arena</a>.</p>
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<h3 id="new-minstanex-gun-model">New Minstanex-gun model</h3>
<p>A new <strong>MinstaNex-gun</strong> model is in WIP for a very long time now, but it seems it&rsquo;ll finally see the pretty lights of a heated minsta battle, replacing the ancient &ldquo;vacuum-cleaner&rdquo; mocknamed model (that deadly piece of household machinery has been with us since Nexuiz 1.5 or so!). It was modelled by theShadow, and the texturing is currently under work in LJFHutch&rsquo;s master painter hands. You can see the original concept art and the currently done third and first person view of this mighty weaponry on the pictures below:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/minstanexb.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/minstanexb-500x281.jpg" alt="New MinstaNex - Concept art" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/minstanex08.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/minstanex08-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/minstanex08b.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/minstanex08b-200x200.jpg" alt="Minstanex first person view" /></a></p>
<h3 id="new-game-mod-and-a-mutator-wip-sandbox-and-overkill">New game mod and a mutator WIP: Sandbox and Overkill</h3>
<p>That&rsquo;s right folks, you&rsquo;ve read it right! There&rsquo;s a new gamemod and a mutator in development, and each one is more fun than the other!</p>
<p><strong>Sandbox</strong> is a one-man project coded by MirceaKitsune. This gamemod offers you the ability to spawn all kind of models found in the game - place them around the map, recolor or resize them, link them together etc. There&rsquo;s also an internal data storage and a clipboard system, so you can save your modelsets, load them to clipboard, and paste them anytime you want. The mod offers both offline and online play - this gives you the opportunity to share your saved modelsets with the aid of the clipboard with other players on the server! It&rsquo;s still early in development, but MirceaKitsune already made huge progress in just a few days. While it&rsquo;s not yet so flexible as the famous Garry&rsquo;s Mod for Half-Life2, the project is geared towards further goals like adding physics, predefined clipboard sets for easier model creations, make model bones possible to pose from in-game etc. Below you can see a small video featuring the already implemented and working functions. You can find the sandbox git branch at:
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/mirceakitsune/sandbox">xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git/mirceakitsune/sandbox</a></p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2KFYPQRLLys"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>You can try out the mod online at MirceaKitsune&rsquo;s Xonotic server (you need to check out his branch first, and recompile your engine in order to be able to play). For more info on the mod, check out it&rsquo;s <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2266">developer thread on the Xonotic forum</a></p>
<p>Last, but not least, here comes the big bang mutator from the coding master tZork and the artisan modeller Morphed:</p>
<p><strong>OVERKILL</strong></p>
<p>Overkill is like Xonotic on steroids (can you imagine that?!): you only have 3 brutally overpowered weapons - the nex, the shotgun, and the machinegun. All the weapons have infinite ammo, but they have to be reload once in a while. The secondary firemodes of the weapons have been replaced by an offhand laser, pumping up the vertical movement ability to the max. From time to time, you can also pull the pin off of an offhand grenade that can be shot with every weapon, triggering a large combo explosion that rips everything to smithereens in the nearby. To countereffect the insane firepower of the guns, health regeneration is incresed to a very high speed. In teambased gamemods, player respawning happens next to nearest living teammates; this often leads to never ending massacres near a tactically important item or place on a map &gt;:D .
The mod also has some new player and weapon models, although yet untextured.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/robo01.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/robo01-200x200.jpg" alt="Robot playermodel of Overkill #1" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/robo02.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/robo02-200x200.jpg" alt="Robot playermodel of Overkill #2" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/robo03.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/robo03-200x200.jpg" alt="Robot playermodel of Overkill #3" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/robo04.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/robo04-200x200.jpg" alt="Robot playermodel of Overkill #4" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/human01.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/human01-200x200.jpg" alt="Human playermodel of Overkill #1" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/human02.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/human02-200x200.jpg" alt="Human playermodel of Overkill #2" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/human03.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/human03-200x200.jpg" alt="Human playermodel of Overkill #3" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/human04.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/human04-200x200.jpg" alt="Human playermodel of Overkill #4" /></a></p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gxc-kREijH4"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>tZork and Morphed&rsquo;s mod became very popular, no doubt, and it has a public testing server, that you can visit anytime:<a href="http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=xonotic&amp;server=87.250.159.246:27000">
[MoN] Overkill. Now with votable game modes. (87.250.159.246:27000)</a></p>
<p>If you&rsquo;d like to check out the technical details behind the mod, the git branch you need to pull is:
<a href="http://git.xonotic.org/?p=xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/tzork/extragib">xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir.git/tzork/extragib</a></p>
<p>Wow, that&rsquo;s massive! I&rsquo;d like to thank everyone participating in developmet, both from the official dev team and the community members too - you all provide great ideas, advices, and helpful bugreports, that keeps Xonotic rolling to it&rsquo;s next release!</p>
<h3 id="attention-to-fellow-developers">ATTENTION TO FELLOW DEVELOPERS!</h3>
<p>As writing this blog is not a simple task that can be done in a few minutes, I&rsquo;d like to ask for all your help! May I introduce you all the git commit tag:</p>
<pre><code>#woxblox#
</code></pre>
<p>From now on please add this humble word to the the message field, when you push a commit to remote that you&rsquo;d especially like to be featured in WoX-BloX! This will add the opportunity to us to filter important commit messages and help writing the nexz blog issue with the following command:</p>
<pre><code>./all each git log --all --grep='#woxblox#' --since=&quot;1 week ago&quot;
</code></pre>
<p>That&rsquo;s all for now folks! See you all in the next issue of WoX-BloX, that&rsquo;ll feature the recent buzz in the community!</p>
<p>GL &amp; HF!</p>
Global Gamers turns 5, celebrates with Xonotic!http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/global-gamers-turns-5-celebrates-with-xonotic/
Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:48:18 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/global-gamers-turns-5-celebrates-with-xonotic/<p><a href="http://www.globalgamers.net"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/gg-logo.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>Friday, 11-11-11, Global Gamers officially turns 5 years old! - On behalf of the entire Xonotic community, CONGRATULATIONS GLOBAL GAMERS!</p>
<p>Global Gamers is an IRC network formed on a simple concept: gaming should be fun! To promote that fun they host multiple game servers for classics like Quake2 as well as cutting-edge hits like BF3. For their birthday they&rsquo;ll have a small gathering in the <a href="irc://irc.globalgamers.net/Home">#Home</a> channel on Friday to kick off the festivities. On Saturday, <strong>November 12th at 2pm CDT</strong> (8:00pm CET) they will launch a four-match Xonotic free-for-all contest! The player with the most frags combined in the four matches will <strong><em>win a prize!</em></strong> The matches will be held on Global Gamers&rsquo; dedicated server, <strong>xonotic.globalgamers.net</strong>.</p>
<p><em>Note: the server is a Florida USA based server, so keep that in mind if you&rsquo;re worried about latency ;D</em></p>
<p>Meanwhile, be sure to try out all the fun game servers GG has to offer you, and don&rsquo;t forget to join their <a href="irc://irc.globalgamers.net/Home">#Home</a> and <a href="irc://irc.globalgamers.net/xonotic">#xonotic</a> channels (especially on Saturday ;) ). Please see the official announcement for this contest for more informaiton: <a href="http://www.globalgamers.net/?s=info&amp;p=news&amp;id=175">http://www.globalgamers.net/?s=info&amp;p=news&amp;id=175</a></p>
<p>GG Global Gamers, and Happy 5th Birthday!</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/11/xonotic000467-1024x819.jpg" alt="Happy 5th Birthday Global Gamers!" /></p>
Xonotic Defrag Movies (XPM) by Justinhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-defrag-movies-xpm-by-justin/
Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:09:10 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-defrag-movies-xpm-by-justin/
<p>One couldn&rsquo;t say that Justin has been resting on his laurels since the release of his <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/two-vids-by-justin/">previous Xonotic defrag movies</a>. He&rsquo;s now back with another visual masterpiece in the arts of bunnyhopping and strafejumping, with the musical tracks of Chooksta:</p>
<h2 id="xonotic-defrag-movie">Xonotic Defrag Movie</h2>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iNgXfF3V2tY"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>The movie features XPM, a special gamemode for defragging, with much similar physics to CPM. All the runs were recorded <strong>ONLINE</strong>, so it shows the real capabilities of Xonotic&rsquo;s netcode.
And that&rsquo;s not all of it! If you&rsquo;ve missed it in August, here&rsquo;s the first episode of the movie:</p>
<h2 id="xonotic-pro-mode">Xonotic Pro Mode</h2>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KcsDQLGfWwk"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>If you&rsquo;d like to try out yourself in XPM, be sure to join the server named:
[CTS] XPM physics + balance changes <a href="78.47.39.134:26000">0.5.0</a></p>
<p>To discuss the video, check out it&rsquo;s <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2281">thread on the Xonotic forums!</a></p>
Deathmatchers - The Moviehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/deathmatchers-the-movie/
Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:23:18 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/deathmatchers-the-movie/
<p>We all knew this day would once come. We&rsquo;ve been waiting for years, read numerous forum posts about it. Some gave up during the struggle, but others held their ground. However now&hellip; the wait is over&hellip;</p>
<p><strong>Ladies and Gentlemen&hellip;</strong></p>
<h2 id="kojn-has-finally-released-his-frag-movie">kojn has FINALLY released his frag movie!</h2>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h6z3rGsoKdQ"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>High quality download links (998MB, XviD avi):</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.affro.net/kojn/deathmatchers_the_movie.avi">affro.net</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nl.dl.xonotic.org/deathmatchers_the_movie.avi">nl.dl.xonotic.org</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nexfiles.com/video/deathmatchers_the_movie.avi">nexfiles.com</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.praeclan.com/video/deathmatchers_the_movie.avi">praeclan.com</a></li>
</ul>
<p>&ldquo;Deathmatches - The Movie&rdquo; is 10:54 long, and features some awesome teamwork footages of the Deathmatchers clan (DMs||) vs a pickup team and [BOT]. Every clip is either vs [BOT] in clan games in 3v3/5v5 CTF, pickup games, duel, tdm, or versus experienced Xonotic players.</p>
<p>Demos were recorded and shot with Xonotic 0.1 Preview, you can also find more information and discuss it on the forums <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2279">here</a>. :D</p>
<p>GG kojn and Deathmatchers!</p>
Xonotic 1v1 tournament by [BOT]http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-1v1-tournament-by-bot/
Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:37:10 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-1v1-tournament-by-bot/
<p>Yo!</p>
<p>For those who browse the forums regularly this is kinda old and late news, but after the success of the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1906">LMS Melee only tournament</a>, the <a href="http://www.bot-nexuiz.de.tl/">[BOT] clan</a> we all know and love (if you don&rsquo;t, you should ;) ) organised:</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/10/1v1-1024x819.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h3 id="xonotic-duel-tourney">Xonotic Duel Tourney</h3>
<p>The tournament is already on the run, with <strong>no less than 29 registered players and 8 groups!</strong> Wow! You can find more information about it on the website at <a href="http://xonduel.tourney.cc/">http://xonduel.tourney.cc/</a>, and groups can be found <a href="http://xonduel.tourney.cc/groups/">here</a>. The group matches should be played at least until 16th November 2011. Some players want to commentate (live or for YouTube) some interesting matches, so stay tuned!</p>
<p>The mappool consists of 9 maps and 6 of them have to be played in the group stage. Later on in the KO phase every player can choose his favourite map. They&rsquo;re a mix of Nexuiz classics, remakes and new Xonotic maps. Stormkeep looks much better now and Darkzone, Downer_final &amp; Xoylent (Soylent) have been remade for Xonotic. Final Rage, Red and Warfare (wiht slightly item placement improvement) are like in Nexuiz. The Xonotic maps (Atomforge, Azalea &amp; Ruined) have a good quality and nice gameplay. However Ruined is the only map which made it into the maps for the group stage, because there are not too many great duel maps yet. We&rsquo;ll cover these maps more in depth in a later post of WoX-Blox.
A few games have been played (and spectated :) ) already, but the real fight starts in the brackets stage!</p>
<p>Good luck &amp; Have fun everyone!</p>
<p><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/10/dodge-1024x819.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>thx to: unozzz., Mepper, Mirio</p>
Good news everyone!http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/good-news-everyone/
Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:57:51 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/good-news-everyone/
<p>Hello all!</p>
<p>No, Xonotic 0.6 is not released yet. We have another kind of good news. ;)</p>
<p>Past experiences show, that while the development of Xonotic is constant and very fruitfull, it is not very transparent. We fully understand that reading <a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir/commits/master">git commit logs</a> or <a href="https://gitlab.com/groups/xonotic">follow activities on the developer tracker</a> is not what you&rsquo;d like to do to get the latest news about fixed bugs, added / reworked features, new maps etc. Not to mention all the community buzz going on the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/index.php">official forums</a>. This is not very user friendly, not to mention it takes a lot time to go through all the exciting new stuff around Xonotic like the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2177">1on1 tournament</a> and <a href="http://stats.xonotic.org">new player statistics testing</a>!</p>
<p>For the sake of solving <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2243">persisting popularity issues</a> (don&rsquo;t say we don&rsquo;t listen to our people ;) ) we&rsquo;ve decided that from now on, we&rsquo;ll be providing a lot more information in this very weblog about the latest happenings a digested way, every once in a while, probably in weekly issues.</p>
<h3 id="ladies-and-gentlemen-we-present-you">Ladies and Gentlemen, we present you:</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/10/xonotic.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/10/xonotic-500x400.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><strong>The WoX-BloX! News about Xonotic, development, and the community!</strong></p>
<p>We&rsquo;ll share with you insider informations about development, screenshots, videos, developer interviews, community buzz and many more!</p>
<p>Stay tuned fellas, be sure to check back later this week!</p>
Free Game Alliancehttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/free-game-alliance/
Fri, 14 Oct 2011 07:05:01 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/free-game-alliance/<p>Hey everyone, just a quick update here:</p>
<p><strong>We&rsquo;re happy to announce that we&rsquo;re supporting the Free Game Alliance :D An initiative started to promote collaborative game development and open source.</strong></p>
<p><em>The Free Game Alliance (FGA) is a great collection of Open Source games, one per genre, which will keep you busy for years to come. What do you need more than a good FPS, a good turn-based strategy game, a good real time strategy game, a good mmorpg and a good car racing game? Probably nothing if the content is updated regularly enough!! That&rsquo;s why the FGA wants to support these projects and make them become known and famous, so more developers and contributors can join them to make this the perfect set of constantly evolving games!</em></p>
<p>Check out their website at <a href="http://www.freegamealliance.com/">http://www.freegamealliance.com/</a>, and make sure to check out the other FOSS games there ^_^</p>
<p>You can also <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2237">discuss it on the forums</a> :D</p>
Xonotic 0.5 Release http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-0-5-release/
Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:34:26 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-0-5-release/
<p>Today we can bring you some great news, a brand new release of Xonotic! It has been quite a while since the 0.1 preview version, but we have made immense progress over the last few months. In this blog post we&rsquo;ll be showing off the latest improvements and tell you about the changes we made from the feedback we had after the initial release.</p>
<p>Xonotic 0.5 is the pinnacle of years of collaborative work by gamers, for gamers. It is the second game release from Team Xonotic, but it is the first in which we have really solidified our gameplay direction and decided how we want to progress with development. We&rsquo;re still not ready to call it 1.0 yet, as we have quite a few things we&rsquo;d like done before that. However, we have made a lot of progress since the 0.1 preview, and you may consider this a stable release already, even though there&rsquo;s still plenty of work left to do.</p>
<p>Again there is a lot to tell, so here is the download link and you can read along whilst you&rsquo;re downloading ;-)</p>
<h3 id="download-here">Download Here</h3>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.5.0.zip.torrent">Download via torrent</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.5.0.zip">Download via HTTP</a></p>
<p>MD5: cdadb384ccf9cad926bb377312832c2f</p>
<p>Package size: 943MiB</p>
<p>We have found a better compression method than used for previous release, so the 0.5 release is much smaller than what it would&rsquo;ve been with old compression (1.4GB).</p>
<p>You can also download and play this release on Desura:
<a href="http://www.desura.com/games/xonotic"><img src="http://button.desura.com/play/outline/games/12648.png" alt="Desura Digital Distribution" /></a></p>
<h3 id="multi-language-support">Multi-language support</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/english.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/english-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/german.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/german.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/russian.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/russian.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Localization spanning across the menu and most of the game now allows for easy translation into many different languages! Currently included are German, Spanish, French, Italian, Hungarian, Dutch, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian and Finnish. (Click image to view some examples)</p>
<h3 id="new-and-updated-maps">New and updated maps</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/afterslime-1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/afterslime-1-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/courtfun-3.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/courtfun-3.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/leave-em-behind-1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/leave-em-behind-1.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/newtonian-nightmare-1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/newtonian-nightmare-1.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/runningman-2.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/runningman-2.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/techassault-1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/techassault-1.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xoylent-1.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xoylent-1.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>7 new default maps were added the game (afterslime, courtfun, leave_em_behind, newtonian-nightmare, runningman, techassault, xoylent), and many others have been updated with new details and gameplay tweaks. Community mappers have also stepped up to add over 100 additional maps which can be played in the game.</p>
<h3 id="vehicles">Vehicles</h3>
<ul class="clearing-thumbs clearing-feature" data-clearing>
<li class="clearing-featured-img"><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic000962.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic000962-200x200.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic000963.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic000963.jpg"></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic000964.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic000964.jpg"></a></li>
</ul>
<p>We now have vehicles! They are mostly functional at this point and fairly mature with few bugs remaining. However, we still consider this feature to be experimental, and they will need major rebalancing in the future, so no maps for vehicles are included by default, although a few of the aforementioned community maps support them quite well in CTF and DM.</p>
<h3 id="weapons-and-player-movement">Weapons and player movement</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic000966.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic000966-200x200.jpg"></a></p>
<p>We have almost completely rethought the weapon balance and part of player physics, enhancing the core elements of Nexuiz&rsquo; gameplay style which were so fun in the past while also progressing with new features and tactics.</p>
<h3 id="technical-achievements">Technical achievements</h3>
<p>There are, of course, a number of other achievements which aren&rsquo;t exactly as major the ones mentioned above but are still quite fantastic and should be noted:</p>
<ul>
<li>Optimized post-processing effects, including damage blur and better bloom / HDR. Decals can also be enabled on player models for realistic blood and impact effects.</li>
<li>Several new exciting texture packs (including metaltech, stein1, trak6, trak7, exomorph) ready to be used by mappers.</li>
<li>Bots now have major AI improvements, including pathfinding, object priorities and movement in general. They also support the Assault game mode now. Included maps were tweaked to have the best possible waypoints for bots.</li>
<li>Improvements to how spectating works, now spectators don&rsquo;t go through walls normally and are bound inside the map (though it can be disabled with cl_clippedspectating).</li>
<li>Countless updates to how the HUD system works and what it can display, plus a completely new HUD theme to match Luminos menu theme.</li>
<li>Updated how waypoints and shownames feature worked. There are now floating names above players, also indicating the health and armor of team mates.</li>
<li>Weapon coloring and team coloring is now done almost entirely with glow so that models can now be improved to better match player styling.</li>
<li>We have also improved how audio channels are managed. For example,now we can have many separate sounds played for different weapons at the same time without them cutting each other off.</li>
<li>Added new game modes and revived some of the older ones. (keepaway, freezetag, assault, etc).</li>
<li>New system to manage instant action/bot match creation.</li>
<li>Hundreds of bugfixes and code cleanups, including a fix involving a major crash with the Crylink weapon.</li>
<li>A large number of old models were replaced or updated, including health models, weapon models, and some other pickup models. Additionally, new player models bring new animations, and we did a little work regarding how model animation works in the code. (Also detail scaling is now possible on all player models, which can help improve framerate).</li>
<li>Entirely new font called “Xolonium” made just for Xonotic, which has a giant range of character support, specifically to allow for multiple languages to work flawlessly.</li>
<li>Various soundtracks by community members have been added with the new maps, plus there are several waiting and ready to be added with your own new map.</li>
<li>And many others&hellip;!</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Known bugs</strong></p>
<p>Due to a change in the new version of Apple&rsquo;s OS X (Lion), it is not possible to play fullscreen for now. By default it will start windowed, and attempting to set it to fullscreen will give you a completely white screen. This bug is caused by an incompatibility in libsdl, which hopefully will be fixed soon.</p>
<h3 id="final-thoughts">Final thoughts</h3>
<p>In the bigger picture, as a descendant of Nexuiz, we are raising the standard for F/OSS gaming by focusing on quality over quantity. Taking the time needed to have the best artwork, design and gameplay possible, relative to the free gaming world. As you can see, we&rsquo;re making huge steps toward this goal, and we would love to for you to enjoy our work. Of course, we also invite anyone to contribute and help us in our quest to create the best possible fast-paced open-source FPS game. Either way, we hope this release will be just as fun for all to play as it is for us to make.</p>
<p>Please spread the word about this release, and let us know any feedback you have about the game. Take a look at the media page for Xonotic content (such as banners, screenshots, videos) for advertising and support.</p>
<p>You can also <a href="#">report a bug</a> by going to the Redmine <a href="#">Development Tracker</a> (Development &gt; Report Bug), and join us in discussion on the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org">Forums</a> (Community &gt; Forums) or on IRC via #xonotic on <a href="irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic">irc.quakenet.org</a> or <a href="irc://irc.freenode.org/xonotic">irc.freenode.org</a>.</p>
<p>Happy fragging. ;)</p>
Results of the LMS Melee Tourney are in!http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/results-of-the-lms-melee-tourney-are-in/
Fri, 08 Jul 2011 19:42:33 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/results-of-the-lms-melee-tourney-are-in/<p>A fun time was had by all in our first-ever last man standing, melee-only tournament! After many rounds of fish-smacking fun, the results are in and vipus is the victor! You can check out the detailed results <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&amp;key=0Aq5_LWlKbsDvdGstUVFONUJLTWVQZkFwWXd1T0dpRWc&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gid=3">here</a>. Thanks to all for participating.</p>
<p>Vipus, it is time to wash your hands - they smell like trout!</p>
Two Videos by Justinhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/two-vids-by-justin/
Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:23:53 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/two-vids-by-justin/<p>Here are two fantastic videos by community member Justin that highlight exactly what one can do with Xonotic&rsquo;s default physics.</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dz2k7IT1-Ng"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LAq3VSJtLSs"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>For more gameplay videos check out Xonotic&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/xonotic#p/f">official YouTube channel</a> or the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1375&amp;page=1">gameplay videos thread</a> on the forums!</p>
Shotgun Tutorialhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/shotgun-tutorial/
Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:16:12 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/shotgun-tutorial/<p>We&rsquo;re very happy to release the first in our series of video weapon tutorials! This week we&rsquo;ll learn how to make good use of the shotgun and its melee capability:</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s0k7yIh9gjA"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>As always, join us on <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/index.php">the forums</a> or on IRC (#xonotic on <a href="http://xonotic.org/chat">Quakenet</a>) for more information. Happy fragging!</p>
Tournament: Last Man Standing, Melee Only!http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/tournament-last-man-standing-melee-only/
Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:14:37 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/tournament-last-man-standing-melee-only/<p>The summer is upon us, and it is time for some fun. Join us in a friendly competition of skill in our <strong>first-ever</strong> last man standing, melee-only tournament! You can find all of the details, including potential dates, <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1906&amp;pid=26147#pid26147">here</a>. Don&rsquo;t forget to bring your trouts!</p>
<p><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1906&amp;pid=26147#pid26147"><img src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/1ypxj6pce58teuvm6dq.png" alt="Take part in the first ever LMS, melee-only tourney!" /></a></p>
Automatic Update Script for Autobuilds Releasedhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/automatic-update-script-for-autobuilds-released/
Tue, 31 May 2011 16:21:43 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/automatic-update-script-for-autobuilds-released/<p>Those of you wanting to stay current with the latest Xonotic builds now have a new option – an <a href="http://rm.rm.rm-f.org/~xonotic/xonotic-autobuild-downloader.zip">automatic update script</a> for downloading autobuilds! Released just yesterday <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1863&amp;pid=25681#pid25681">by divVerent</a>, this script uses rsync to download only the files you need to keep current. This will save you (and the project, of course) a bunch of bandwidth.</p>
<p>To run the script, extract the zip file linked above to a folder of your choosing, then run the file appropriate to your environment (update-xonotic.sh for Linux and Mac, update-xonotic.bat for Windows) to start the update process. If you do not currently have a Xonotic build installed to that directory one will be downloaded. If you have a preexisting Xonotic build installed there it will be updated to the most recent daily build of the master branch.</p>
<p>Take note that this script is intended for players – developers and testers will most likely want to stay with the git version and its corresponding “all” script.</p>
<p>Happy fragging!</p>
<p><strong>EDIT: The URL is dead, the script comes now with the release and you can find it at ~\Xonotic\misc\tools\rsync-updater</strong></p>
Video: The Evolution of a Maphttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/video-the-evolution-of-a-map/
Wed, 18 May 2011 19:17:58 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/video-the-evolution-of-a-map/<p><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=15">C.Brutail</a>, one of the official developers in the Xonotic community, released a video today. The video chronicles his journey in converting an existing Nexuiz map to a Xonotic one. You can see how his attention to detail and knack for adding gameplay elements resulted in a new style of map. Check it out!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iPnujRoHcQU"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
Xonotic Player Interviewshttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-player-interviews/
Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:40:25 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/xonotic-player-interviews/<p>Be sure to check the new <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=1132&amp;pid=15574#pid15574">series of player interviews by Antibody,</a> where you can hear players talk about the game while watching their actual gameplay! Thus far we&rsquo;ve spoken with several experienced community members who have been playing for years. We discuss many subjects - current development, strategy, favorite moments, advice for new players, and much more. Check out all of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=38DA014EDBCA94A2">interviews in the series</a> and stay tuned to the <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/index.php">forums </a>or IRC (#xonotic on Quakenet) for more!</p>
Happy first anniversary!http://xonotic.org/posts/2011/happy-first-anniversary/
Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:09:47 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/happy-first-anniversary/<p>Many of you may not know this, but&hellip;</p>
<p><em><strong>TODAY IS OUR FIRST BIRTHDAY!</strong></em></p>
<p>One year ago today, March 7th 2010, is the day that we gathered together and began on our new future together as Team Xonotic! Can you believe that it has been a whole year? It is remarkable how time flies. Anyway, we just wanted to give you guys a little update on the project and how it is progressing after a year. As you know, we released a preview of Xonotic only a few months ago which really gave us a lot of great feedback about gameplay mechanics and such which were greatly helpful with moving forward on the project. On top of this we also have a lot of new features in mind from suggestions we recieved, as well as a really good collection of goals for the future. So lets just talk about some of those new larger goals which we have accomplished/started on since our first preview of Xonotic.</p>
<p><strong>Full language support throughout the project</strong>
We have expanded the menu and hud system to be entirely adaptive to languages, and we also have a collection of languages already included in Xonotic which you can choose from. Now you aren&rsquo;t limited to only English, instead you can have German, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Dutch, Portugese, Romanian, Russian and Swedish. We obviously would like to include even more languages, so please consider doing a translation or improving the ones we have. Of course in order to have good language support we also needed a new font which could contain all of those characters, so we now also have an entirely new font called &ldquo;Xolonium&rdquo; made just for Xonotic which has a giant range of character support. There&rsquo;s also the added benefit that it now fits the style of Xonotic much better. :D</p>
<p><strong>New game modes and mutators</strong>
Xonotic recieved two new additions to its game mode collection: Keepaway and Freezetag. These actually were in the Xonotic 0.1 preview release, however we didn&rsquo;t really stress them too much yet as they were rather early. Now we can say that they are basically finished with the testing and feedback we recieved from the community, and we encourage you to try them out and have fun with them! Another thing we expanded upon is the mutators, especially &ldquo;relics&rdquo; (working name, may be changed) which are basically randomly placed powerups on the map which you can pick up that give you unique/special abilities.</p>
<p><strong>Major improvements to weapons and balance</strong>
Since we recieved plenty of playtesting with the 0.1 preview, we managed to get a very clear view of how the weapons should work and what direction we should take them. Some of you weren&rsquo;t very pleased with the 0.1 preview because the weapons weren&rsquo;t really exposed yet and needed more testing, but that&rsquo;s why it was a preview! Thanks to the input we got from it, I&rsquo;m glad to say we have really improved a lot of the things about the weapons and their behavior. There is still quite a bit of work going on here, but we hope to wrap this up soon so we can move forward with the balance.</p>
<p><strong>Global statistics and user management</strong>
This is a rather early prospect, but it has grown over the past few months and is now a big goal for Xonotic. Basically we want to have the ability to have player statistics and information stored from data across all servers (opt-in only, so a player isn&rsquo;t forced to have this) allowing people to keep track of their scores, accuracy and even &ldquo;achievements.&rdquo; What this means for you is that we can provide a way for you to really be competitive with your friends or other clans, and you can also track and compare your performance and progress against other players. Another advantage which we&rsquo;re considering is a real tournament system built into the game for competitive play, so you can actually have automated tourney brackets and matches.</p>
<p>In general we&rsquo;ve made tremendous progress over the last year, and we&rsquo;re far from done. We&rsquo;d like to thank our developers and community for their continued support and efforts to make the game what it is today! Stay tuned, as you can expect a lot more from Xonotic in the future.</p>
Help Make Xonotic Better, Take Our Surveyhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/help-make-xonotic-better-take-our-survey/
Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:35:31 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2011/help-make-xonotic-better-take-our-survey/<p>It&rsquo;s been one month tomorrow since the release of Xonotic 0.1preview. This should be enough time for us to gain some valuable feedback about this early release. Whether you&rsquo;re a developer, a player or just someone interested in Xonotic. Please take the time to fill out <a href="#">this survey</a> to help us learn more about our community and the wants/needs, likes/dislikes of our user-base.</p>
<p>Spread the word, the more results we get, the more we can fine tune the next few releases to meet expectations of a wider audience. Also, if you&rsquo;re not yet <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Xonotic/106450756044750">following our facebook page</a>, then do so for super special, top secret alerts and news, not even follows of the <a href="http://twitter.com/xonotic">Xonotic&rsquo;s twitter</a> get.</p>
<p>By the way, your results will be more valuable to us if you <em>have played Xonotic</em>. If you haven&rsquo;t played it yet, we urge you to <a href="http://xonotic.org/download/">download Xonotic first</a>.</p>
Downloadhttp://xonotic.org/download/
Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:18:51 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/download/
<h3 id="latest-release-xonotic-0-8-2-for-linux-windows-and-mac">Latest release: Xonotic 0.8.2 for Linux, Windows and Mac</h3>
<p><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.2.zip"><i class="fa fa-download"></i> Download as zip</a><br />
<a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.2.zip.torrent"><i class="fa fa-download"></i> Download via torrent</a></p>
<p>No installation required, just unpack and run. Got questions? See the <a href="http://xonotic.org/faq">FAQ</a> or <a href="http://xonotic.org/chat">live chat</a> with us.</p>
<p style="font-size: 90%">
sha256sum: a22f7230f486c5825b55cfdadd73399c9b0fae98c9e081dd8ac76eca08359ad5</br>
Package size: 946 MB
</p>
<h3 id="hardware-requirements">Hardware requirements</h3>
<p><strong>Minimum (low settings):</strong><br />
1.6 GHz single-core CPU<br />
2 GB RAM<br />
onboard GPU</p>
<p><strong>Optimal (60 fps on normal settings):</strong><br />
2.5 GHz dual-core CPU (for background tasks - Xonotic is single threaded)<br />
4 GB RAM<br />
GPU with 512 MB VRAM</p>
<p>Linux, macOS, or Windows 7 and later</p>
<h3 id="upgrading-from-an-older-version">Upgrading from an older version</h3>
<p>Since Xonotic version 0.5 we&rsquo;ve offered an auto-update tool that will seamlessly upgrade your client to the latest release, provided you&rsquo;re using an official release or autobuild to begin with. You can find this tool in your Xonotic application directory. To use it, start by navigating to the misc-&gt;tools-&gt;rsync-updater subdirectory, then double-click (or otherwise execute in a terminal) the &ldquo;update-to-release.sh&rdquo; inside this directory. There is also a &ldquo;update-to-release.bat&rdquo; script for Windows users. This script will examine your installation and update only the files needed to bring your copy up to date using the &ldquo;rsync&rdquo; tool. In no time you&rsquo;ll have a shiny new client with which to play!</p>
<h3 id="extra-downloads">Extra downloads</h3>
<p><strong><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.2-mappingsupport.zip">Download NetRadiant via HTTP</a></strong><br />
<strong>Description:</strong> Official Xonotic map editor with all the required textures to create maps. The download only contains binaries for Windows and macOS, Linux users will need to compile from source- which is also provided in the package.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.2-low.zip">Lower quality download via HTTP</a></strong><br />
<strong>Description:</strong> Release build with JPEG texture compression instead of using DDS textures compiled with S3TC. This build has smaller file size and has better support for opensource/legacy drivers, but the textures take slightly longer while loading the game.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.2-source.zip">Source download via HTTP</a></strong><br />
<strong>Description:</strong> Source of all code parts (also included with the other downloads).</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://gitlab.com/groups/xonotic">Our project page on GitLab</a></strong></p>
<h3 id="older-downloads">Older downloads</h3>
<p><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.1.zip.torrent">Download 0.8.1 via torrent</a> (940M, md5: f7a9cd8ab68a00336acca164f983b569)<br />
<a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.1.zip">Download 0.8.1 via HTTP</a> (940M, md5: f7a9cd8ab68a00336acca164f983b569)</p>
<p><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.0.zip.torrent">Download 0.8.0 via torrent</a> (953M, md5: bc368e116a2502362e1d4f07d8f8efab)<br />
<a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.8.0.zip">Download 0.8.0 via HTTP</a> (953M, md5: bc368e116a2502362e1d4f07d8f8efab)</p>
<p><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.7.0.zip.torrent">Download 0.7.0 via torrent</a> (993M, md5: eda7e8acadbefaf4b2efcfb70bbe98e2)<br />
<a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.7.0.zip">Download 0.7.0 via HTTP</a> (993M, md5: eda7e8acadbefaf4b2efcfb70bbe98e2)</p>
<p><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.6.0.zip.torrent">Download 0.6.0 via torrent</a> (943M, md5: 2dac2c1ad4388255d3ad4d038dea3f77)<br />
<a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.6.0.zip">Download 0.6.0 via HTTP</a> (943M, md5: 2dac2c1ad4388255d3ad4d038dea3f77)</p>
<p><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.5.0.zip.torrent">Download 0.5.0 via torrent</a> (943M, md5: cdadb384ccf9cad926bb377312832c2f)<br />
<a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.5.0.zip">Download 0.5.0 via HTTP</a> (943M, md5: cdadb384ccf9cad926bb377312832c2f)</p>
<p><a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.1.0preview.zip.torrent">Download 0.1.0 via torrent</a> (1.3G, md5: aafb43893aa66e01488c817e3a60d96d)<br />
<a href="https://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.1.0preview.zip">Download 0.1.0 via HTTP</a> (1.3G, md5: aafb43893aa66e01488c817e3a60d96d)</p>
Xonotic 0.1 Preview Releasedhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/xonotic-0-1-preview-released/
Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:05:54 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/xonotic-0-1-preview-released/
<p>Today is an exciting day for us, as we are proud to bring you the first preview of Xonotic! There is a lot to tell, but since this release has already grown to a whopping 1.3GB - we will provide you with a download link right away. Please continue reading while it downloads. :-)</p>
<h3 id="download-xonotic-0-1-preview-here">DOWNLOAD XONOTIC 0.1 PREVIEW HERE</h3>
<p><a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.1.0preview.zip.torrent">Download via torrent</a>
<a href="http://dl.xonotic.org/xonotic-0.1.0preview.zip">Download via HTTP</a></p>
<p>md5sum: aafb43893aa66e01488c817e3a60d96d</p>
<p>The last release of Nexuiz (2.5.2) was on the first of October 2009, and when we decided to fork early March 2010 we continued where we had left off with Nexuiz. Large parts of the code, graphics and music have been redone and have improved immensely. In over a year we have managed to make huge progress on pretty much every part of the game. However this release is still a preview, which means that bugs are likely to exist and that some of our decisions turn out to have unwanted side effects. This first preview also still has a limited number of maps, but we do have many maps being worked on for future releases! In the next sections we will explain what new features are available and the main things that have changed from Nexuiz.</p>
<h3 id="performance">Performance</h3>
<p>Many things have progressed, both in features and graphics, and this usually takes its toll on the speed of the game. We are proud to say that even with the enormous amount of new stuff, Xonotic performs very well on most systems we have tested. One of the things that makes the game feel much more smooth is the change from 20 to 60 server frames per second. We have also been able to merge the D3D code into darkplaces, which has resulted in a fps improvement on all supported OSes!</p>
<p>With all the new graphics you do need more RAM to store these in memory, we consider 2GB RAM a minimum for the normal game, however we also provide versions with compressed textures which are more suitable for lower end hardware.</p>
<h3 id="panelhud">Panelhud</h3>
<p>One of the most noticeable things is that the way the HUD is shown is now completely dynamic. Everything is divided into panels that can be individually customized and moved around. This way you can create the HUD config that provides you exactly the information you want, and where you want it. There also are various pre-made configurations you can choose from if you don&rsquo;t want to spend the time to tweak everything.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic000132.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic000132-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic000133.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic000133-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic000134.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic000134-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>Apart from the HUD, there now is a big set of new and good looking crosshairs. The crosshair now also provides you with more information about several things, like the Nex charge, picking up items and showing from which angle you&rsquo;re being attacked. Updated Crosshairs based on the concepts below:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/CrossConcept.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/CrossConcept-381x500.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<h3 id="new-menu">New menu</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/11/xonotic_menu_options.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/11/xonotic_menu_options-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/11/xonotic_server_list.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/11/xonotic_server_list-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>The menu theme has been updated and the options have been tuned to better reflect what values players are likely to change. This means that some options that were available before are now only accessible through the advanced menu or by editing the cvars directly.</p>
<p>The server menu now has a few extra logos that can help you to select the server you&rsquo;d like to play on. The &lsquo;AES&rsquo; symbol means that a server support encryption, the Xonotic logo means it is a &lsquo;pure&rsquo; server and the third logo tells you that a server has IPv6 support.</p>
<p>Pure servers are a new concept in Xonotic, which basically tells you that on this server there are no gameplay changing settings enabled. On these servers you can expect to find a game the way we designed it, however server admins are still free to use their own settings as they like. For consistency, please do let your players know what has changed in the MOTD or server name.</p>
<h3 id="physics-and-balance">Physics and balance</h3>
<p>The physics and balance have both changed a lot, while still staying true to being a fast paced action game. Movement has been simplified in both the code and in the way it feels, it is now easier to gain speed and to do turns without losing a lot of speed. There is still some benefit to using strafing to gain speed, but this has been lowered to make the game more accessible to new players.</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5SZgyP-0C0Q"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>The entire weapon balance has been rewritten from scratch, and while we still have the old weapons, some of them have been given entirely new functions. Others have been tuned to be more balanced in relation to the other weapons. Some of the weapons have also gotten new models and/or textures, and we also have a brand new weapon: the minelayer. (Screenshots can be found of the minelayer below)</p>
<p>This balance part of the preview release is really a test to see how it works out. We have obviously been testing a lot, but this part is likely going to need fine tuning and we need your input to get it right for the final release.</p>
<h3 id="new-player-models-and-animation">New player models and animation</h3>
<p>The old player models in Nexuiz were quite outdated, so we decided to remove them all and start from scratch. Currently we do not have as many models as we used to, but they are of much higher quality. The animations have also been done from scratch, and they are now well aligned with the player models.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/412771687019.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/412771687019-200x200.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/9127717046613.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/9127717046613-200x200.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/012771705399.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/012771705399-200x200.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/412771683267.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/412771683267-200x200.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/di-1212771613363.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/di-1212771613363-200x200.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/712771685977.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/05/712771685977-200x200.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>In addition to the player models, some other models were updated like the flag model, armor models, and a few weapon models.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-nex-1st-person-charged.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-nex-1st-person-charged-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-nex-1st-person.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-nex-1st-person-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-nex.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-nex-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-mine-layer-1st-person.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-mine-layer-1st-person-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-mine-layer.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-weapon-mine-layer-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-armor-chips.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-armor-chips-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-armor.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-armor-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/11/xonotic_new_flag.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/11/xonotic_new_flag-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic000141.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic000141-200x200.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<h3 id="new-maps">New Maps</h3>
<p>Xonotic features several remade and brand new maps, many of which are entirely recreated with new visuals and gameplay tweaks. So far we have 4 DM maps and 2 CTF maps, however there are MANY other great maps made for Xonotic which are still waiting to be added that could even be added by a server owner if they want to.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-dance-blue-base.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-dance-blue-base-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-dance-red-base.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-dance-red-base-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-g-23-main-room.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-g-23-main-room-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-g-23-outside.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-g-23-outside-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-glowplant-inside.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-glowplant-inside-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-glowplant-outside.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-glowplant-outside-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-nexball-arena-close-up.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-nexball-arena-close-up-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-nexball-arena-full-view.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-nexball-arena-full-view-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-red-planet-blue-base.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-red-planet-blue-base-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-red-planet-inside.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-red-planet-inside-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-red-planet-outside.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-red-planet-outside-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-red-planet-red-base.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-red-planet-red-base-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-stormkeep-warpzone-1.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-stormkeep-warpzone-1-200x200.png" alt="" /></a><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-stormkeep-warpzone-2.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2010/12/xonotic-map-stormkeep-warpzone-2-200x200.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<h3 id="client-authentication-and-encryption">Client authentication and encryption</h3>
<p>We have created and integrated a new <a href="https://github.com/divVerent/d0_blind_id">cryptography library</a> which allows both servers and clients to authenticate. Currently this is only used to store records and make them persistent after nickname changes. In the future we can use this system for various other things like statistics tracking and achievements.</p>
<p>Additionally we have added optional AES encryption support, which allows clients to communicate privately to a server. This can be used to prevent various attacks against the udp protocol used to communicate.</p>
<h3 id="final-thoughts">Final thoughts</h3>
<p>We hope you will enjoy playing this game as much as we enjoyed making it. Please spread the word about the release, and let us know how you like this preview. Bug reports can go to the development tracker, and discussion can be done on the forums or on irc. You can find us in #xonotic on QuakeNet for discussion, the same channel on freenode is meant for development related chat. Happy fragging.</p>
<p>You can find additional media, including advertisements on the <a href="http://xonotic.org/media">media pages</a> (check the menu for subpages) to help spread news and support Xonotic.</p>
The Organizational Structure of Xonotichttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/the-organizational-structure-of-xonotic/
Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:52:08 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/the-organizational-structure-of-xonotic/
<h3 id="introduction">Introduction</h3>
<p>Behind the scenes a lot has been going on in the organization of the Xonotic project. If you&rsquo;re watching <a href="http://git.xonotic.org">git.xonotic.org</a>, <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org">forums.xonotic.org</a>, <a href="http://dev.xonotic.org">dev.xonotic.org</a>, <a href="http://img.xonotic.org">img.xonotic.org</a>, #xonotic on irc.quakenet.org / irc.freenode.org then you probably have an idea of who has been contributing but there has been no clear definition to the public on leadership roles.</p>
<p>Through forum discussions and IRC chats, the core team has designed an organizational structure and appointed key individuals to positions. In the system design, we&rsquo;ve tried to keep the hierarchy as low as possible. Xonotic is free open-source software and we&rsquo;re interested in evolving together with freedoms in tact but too much freedom in system design can lead to nothing getting accomplished. This is why we&rsquo;ve appointed the following list of people to guide the direction of the project and ensure the quality of the experience.</p>
<h2 id="team-xonotic">Team Xonotic</h2>
<h3 id="core-team">Core Team</h3>
<p>The Core team consists of 6 members who discuss and vote on large project changes. This international group of leaders is a classic group of collaborators who above all else, will try and do what&rsquo;s best for the game and community.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=4">divVerent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=1">-z-</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=34">merlijn</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=8">morphed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=13">mand1nga</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=39">tZork</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="list-of-coordinators">List of Coordinators</h3>
<p>Coordinators are here to guide contributors, provide information both in and outside their area of expertise and act as liasons to the core team to ensure the most important information doesn&rsquo;t go overlooked. Coordinators will be the people to ask questions to regarding their subjects. If you&rsquo;re feeling lost, contact these people, their names are linked to their forum accounts.</p>
<h4 id="art">Art</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=14">Diabolik</a> a.k.a Dib</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="2d-art-web">2d Art / Web</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=1">-z-</a> (web / game)</li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=29">FruitieX</a> (game / web)</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="3d-art">3d Art</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=8">morphed</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="level-design">Level Design</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=29">FruitieX</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="music-sound-fx">Music / Sound FX</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=13">mand1nga</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=34">merlijn</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="engine-code">Engine Code</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=4">divVerent</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="game-code">Game Code</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=4">divVerent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=29">FruitieX</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=39">tZork</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="marketing-pr">Marketing / PR</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=1">-z-</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=13">mand1nga</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="legal">Legal</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=4">divVerent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid;=34">merlijn</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> Many of the core members are serving double roles as coordinators. This is not a considered a conflict of interests in decision making because these members are largely filling the role until someone else who fits the description can fill it.</p>
<p>These coordination positions are time-consuming roles that require dedication, knowledge of the area and sharpened communication skills. If you believe you can be of assistance in this area, you may contact the team at <a href="mailto:admin@xonotic.org">admin@xonotic.org</a>. Don&rsquo;t forget, you can still contribute in other ways without the responsibilities of a coordinator.</p>
<h3 id="other-contributors-and-supporters">Other Contributors and Supporters</h3>
<p>See <a href="http://dev.xonotic.org/projects/xonotic">dev.xonotic.org/xonotic</a> for the most up-to-date list of contributors.</p>
<h4 id="needed-positions">Needed positions</h4>
<p><strong>Community Coordinator</strong>
To help organize and guide the growth of the community / street team</p>
<p><strong>Writers</strong>
To write articles about xonotic and related things</p>
<p><strong>Ruby developers</strong>
To customize redmine for the project needs</p>
<p><strong>PHP Developers</strong>
To write MyBB plugins for the project&rsquo;s needs</p>
<p>Contact Team Xonotic at <a href="mailto:admin@xonotic.org">admin@xonotic.org</a></p>
Heads up for our Mac usershttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/heads-up-for-our-mac-users/
Sun, 13 Jun 2010 19:11:34 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/heads-up-for-our-mac-users/<p>In the past few weeks I&rsquo;ve been taking a stab at all the Mac specific stuff for Xonotic. Most of these changes will probably go unnoticed for the majority of our players, but for the sake of documentation I will post some details about what I&rsquo;ve done.</p>
<p>Let&rsquo;s start out with the good news, all of the libraries have been updated to the latest versions and are now all capable of running as 64-bit (x86_64). For many Snow Leopard users this will mean easier compilation and we will be able to include 64-bit binaries in our future releases. Furthermore we are switching to the SDL interface as the default for OSX now, largely because it is easier to maintain and there is very little difference in performance these days. The <code>all</code> script automatically selects SDL already, however you can choose AGL by means of <code>./all compile agl</code> and <code>./all run agl</code> if desired.</p>
<p>The reason why we&rsquo;re moving away from AGL is that the interface has massively changed in Snow Leopard, and currently AGL doesn&rsquo;t even compile on Snow Leopard. In fact this is unlikely to ever get fixed, as it would require the rewrite of a large portion of the code. This really only makes AGL an option for those of us still on Leopard.</p>
<p>Due to the 64-bit capability, we&rsquo;ve also had to drop support for OSX 10.4 Tiger. I suspect everyone who likes gaming on his Mac does not run Tiger any more, and even PPC users can still upgrade to Leopard (Yes, we still support PPC).</p>
<p>With all of these changes, it has also become pretty easy to run Xonotic from GIT on your Mac. You will still need to install XCode and the SDL framework, but that&rsquo;s pretty simple. More information can be found on the <a href="http://dev.xonotic.org/projects/3/wiki/Repository_Access">wiki page</a>. If you run into any trouble, please let me know.</p>
<p>Merlijn Hofstra</p>
First development update - There's a lot to mentionhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/first-development-update-theres-a-lot-to-mention/
Mon, 31 May 2010 15:42:57 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/first-development-update-theres-a-lot-to-mention/
<h3 id="intro">Intro</h3>
<p>As you can see it&rsquo;s finally possible for us to post news updates about the project! The news site apparently had some problems, and with our web developer busy there was no way to write news here. That doesn&rsquo;t mean nothing happened though, if you have been reading GIT log there&rsquo;s been a lot going on &ldquo;behind the scenes&rdquo; if you want to call it that :) The project has been going forward at a fast pace thanks to the great community of contributors that we have.</p>
<p>I&rsquo;ll start out in a little bit of a rush, trying to sum up the most important development that has been going on in the project, from the view of a busy developer who is just getting back into contributing actively :)</p>
<h3 id="player-models">Player models</h3>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/f6i2wct8fna1tvux1q.jpg" title="Ignis, Female Version">
<img alt="Ignis, Female Version" title="Ignis, Female Version" src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/f6i2wct8fna1tvux1q.jpg">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>Ignis, Female Version</p>
</div>
<p>The player models are finally getting the update they deserve. Dib and tZork (hope I didn&rsquo;t miss anyone) are working on getting Oblivion&rsquo;s awesome player models working and looking fine in the game. Dib is also working on fixing the weapon scale, which previously was too big.</p>
<p>More screenshots in the <a href="http://xonotic.org/media">image gallery</a>.</p>
<h3 id="maps">Maps</h3>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/zkiws2z0x8qekb1hqvj2.jpg" title="WIP screenshot of Glowarena remake by tZork">
<img alt="WIP screenshot of Glowarena remake by tZork" title="WIP screenshot of Glowarena remake by tZork" src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/zkiws2z0x8qekb1hqvj2.jpg">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>WIP screenshot of Glowarena remake by tZork</p>
</div>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/5n4zm98lx8ympaip0la.jpg" title="WIP screenshot of Space Elevator by FruitieX">
<img alt="WIP screenshot of Space Elevator by FruitieX" title="WIP screenshot of Space Elevator by FruitieX" src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/5n4zm98lx8ympaip0la.jpg">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>WIP screenshot of Space Elevator by FruitieX</p>
</div>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/29xg8ajq1cdzrnqk1s4.jpg" title="WIP screenshot of Dance by FruitieX">
<img alt="WIP screenshot of Dance by FruitieX" title="WIP screenshot of Dance by FruitieX" src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/29xg8ajq1cdzrnqk1s4.jpg">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>WIP screenshot of Dance by FruitieX</p>
</div>
<p>Most of the Nexuiz maps weren&rsquo;t really up to today&rsquo;s quality standards, so the old favorites are being remade by mappers like tZork, Cortez, sev, FruitieX (me), Cuinnton and others. Currently it _looks _like at least the following maps will have remakes: Glowarena (tZork), Dance (FruitieX), Space elevator/Gasolinepowered (Cuinnton/FruitieX), Aggressor (FruitieX) Stormkeep (FruitieX), Runningmanctf (FruitieX, I&rsquo;m promising much here :D), Downer (Cortez), Evilspace (Cortez), Soylent (sev), Castles (Cuinnton), Space CTF aka cb_ctf1 (C. Brutail) and probably more that I&rsquo;ve missed :). Aside from remakes, I&rsquo;m also seeing brand new maps appearing in the forum, and even in the repo (condemned_castles by MooKow). Which of these that appear in the initial release is something I have no idea about yet :)</p>
<h3 id="code">Code</h3>
<p>There&rsquo;s quite a lot going on code-wise. This is probably the part that&rsquo;s the most invisible to people in the community that do not hang around irc channels all the time, or read git log. We have been seeing big and important changes taking place, made possible much thanks to the switch to git: The developers aren&rsquo;t all tied to work in one place, in the stable &ldquo;branch&rdquo; anymore as they pretty much were in svn, now they can simply create a branch even for their most experimental changes. This enabled huge changes such as CSQC players to be possible to develop in parallel to other smaller things: that (as of today) still experimental stuff does not interfere with the rest of the development. When finished that should give us better animations, better prediction code, better compatibility to future versions (new physics code can simply be sent by the server, as opposed to now when you need an engine update) among other things. Also, Taoki has been working on adding more natural animations for the 1st person weapon models when moving the view around, similar to what most other modern fps engines are doing.</p>
<h3 id="hud">HUD</h3>
<p>Another immediately visible thing in the initial Xonotic release should be the completely new HUD system, developed and initially brainstormed by me and Dib: the &ldquo;Panel HUD&rdquo;. It takes each HUD element and divides them into rectangular panels, each panel freely movable and resizeable with the mouse cursor, similar to how you manipulate your windows on your computer. Thus you&rsquo;ll be able to create your own HUD layout easily, and with some extra effort and image editing skills, your entirely own skin. The default layout/skin has not been decided on yet, it&rsquo;s up to the community to provide the best!</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ac3197XbkkM"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/hph3jau64w6eewq9dnl.jpg" title="WIP Panel HUD skin by sev">
<img alt="WIP Panel HUD skin by sev" title="WIP Panel HUD skin by sev" src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/hph3jau64w6eewq9dnl.jpg">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>WIP Panel HUD skin by sev</p>
</div>
<h3 id="menu">Menu</h3>
<div class='wp-caption aligncenter'>
<a href="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/pj13gstvgqpbamgxrxzm.jpg" title="WickedX menu theme, also by sev">
<img alt="WickedX menu theme, also by sev" title="WickedX menu theme, also by sev" src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/pj13gstvgqpbamgxrxzm.jpg">
</a>
<p class='wp-caption-text'>WickedX menu theme, also by sev</p>
</div>
<p>We&rsquo;ve also had a menu uplift, with new animation code by esteel and the new default menu theme looking like this:</p>
<h3 id="physics-balance">Physics/balance</h3>
<p>Other interesting changes include an update to the physics config, which now allows for circlejumps and more controlled strafe turning. divVerent has also tweaked them to remove exploits such as strafebots from being used. Doublejumps are an option still discussed, but before they are enabled by default &ldquo;the code has to be more mature&rdquo;.</p>
<p>A subject that&rsquo;s currently discussed a lot about is the weapon balance, with many contributors having their own set of weapon settings. There&rsquo;s not much to say about any kind of &ldquo;official&rdquo; balance yet, but it seems like it is going to differ from the Nexuiz balance a bit. Personally I hope that we&rsquo;ll get as unique weapons as possible, with each weapon having it&rsquo;s own uses that differ from the others as much as possible, which was a little bit of a problem in the Nexuiz balance.</p>
Mainsite Overhaul - Xonotic.org Just Got Usefulhttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/mainsite-overhaul-xonotic-org-just-got-useful/
Sun, 30 May 2010 22:30:58 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/mainsite-overhaul-xonotic-org-just-got-useful/<p>Many of you have noticed that the main site has been stagnant recently. This has probably left many of you thinking the project is dead if you haven&rsquo;t been lurking around IRC (#xonotic on irc.quakenet.org / irc.freenode.net), <a href="http://dev.xonotic.org">dev.xonotic.org</a>, <a href="http://git.xonotic.org">git.xonotic.org</a> or <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org">forums.xonotic.org</a>. It&rsquo;s far from it and we&rsquo;re aiming to get that sort of news out to the public in a more streamlined fashion.</p>
<p>In addition, we&rsquo;re looking to improve how we collect contributions, sort through information and make sure we&rsquo;re conveying status back to the public. We wish for this system to be as self-sustaining as possible and this attribute has long kept me from making this announcement. We&rsquo;ve been doing a lot of planning and organization structure behind the scenes (more on that soon) and it is my hope that we can bridge these web applications with a global user system for simplicity. A lot goes into that however and it&rsquo;s not possible for us to do this yet. I have set aside some original plans for the way the applications are stitched together and refreshed/refined the vision of how this main-site should behave. This plan still allows for the future possibility of a global login but first and foremost, allows us to USE the darn thing :).</p>
<p>I know you may have been hoping for more information about the status of the project but that will be coming in another update. For now, click around, get acquainted with all the goodies.</p>
Team Xonotichttp://xonotic.org/team/
Sun, 30 May 2010 15:09:26 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/team/
<h2 id="core-team">Core Team</h2>
<p>The Core team consists of members who discuss and vote on large project changes. This international group of leaders is a classic group of collaborators who above all else, will try and do what&rsquo;s best for the game and community. You can find most of them on our <a href="https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=xonotic">Freenode channel</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=4">divVerent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1">-z-</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=34">Merlijn Hofstra</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=8">Peter Pielak (&ldquo;Morphed&rdquo;)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=164">Samual</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=530">Antibody</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=15">CuBe0wL</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=213">Mirio</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1258">Mario</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="extended-team">Extended Team</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3351">Archer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=446">bitbomb</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=222">Debugger</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=29">FruitieX</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=4680">GATTS</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=53">Halogene</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=574">IDWMaster</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=4193">JH0nny</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=184">kuniuthefrogg</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=2969">matthiaskrgr</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=30">MrBougo</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=842">nilyt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1003">Nitroxis</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=373">packer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1879">s1lence</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=46">sev</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=813">Soelen</a></li>
<li>Sydes</li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=620">terencehill</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=153">theShadow</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=234">unfa</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3578">zykure</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Follow the <a href="http://xonpickbot.designxenon.com:27500/feed">RSS Feed</a> to read the latest decisions in development.</p>
<h3 id="list-of-coordinators">List of Coordinators</h3>
<p>Coordinators are here to guide contributors, provide information both in and outside their area of expertise and act as liasons to the core team to ensure the most important information doesn&rsquo;t go overlooked. Coordinators will be the people to ask questions to regarding their subjects. If you&rsquo;re feeling lost, contact these people, their names are linked to their forum accounts.</p>
<h4 id="artwork">Artwork</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=14">Diabolik</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=8">Peter Pielak (&ldquo;Morphed&rdquo;)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=29">FruitieX</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="website">Website</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=530">Antibody (web)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1">-z- (web / game)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=34">merlijn</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="level-design">Level Design</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=29">FruitieX</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="music-sound-fx">Music / Sound FX</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=13">mand1nga</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=34">merlijn</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="engine-code">Engine Code</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=4">divVerent</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="game-code">Game Code</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=4">divVerent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=29">FruitieX</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=39">tZork</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=164">Samual</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="marketing-pr">Marketing / PR</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=1">-z-</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=13">mand1nga</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=164">Samual</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="legal">Legal</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=4">divVerent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=34">merlijn</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="stats">Stats</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=530">Antibody</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/member.php?action=profile&amp;uid=3578">zykure</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> Many of the core members are serving double roles as coordinators. This is not a considered a conflict of interests in decision making because these members are largely filling the role until someone else who fits the description can fill it.</p>
<p>These coordination positions are time-consuming roles that require dedication, knowledge of the area and sharpened communication skills. If you believe you can be of assistance in this area, you may contact the team at <a href="mailto:admin@xonotic.org">admin@xonotic.org</a> or in <a href="https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=xonotic">FreeNode #xonotic</a>. Don&rsquo;t forget, you can still contribute in other ways without the responsibilities of a coordinator.</p>
<h3 id="other-contributors-and-supporters">Other Contributors and Supporters</h3>
<p>See the Credits in the game for the most up-to-date list of contributors.</p>
<p>Please view our <a href="http://xonotic.org/faq">FAQ page</a> for more information.</p>
FAQhttp://xonotic.org/faq/
Sun, 30 May 2010 14:50:21 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/faq/
<h1 id="xonotic-faqs">Xonotic FAQs</h1>
<p><a name="install"></a></p>
<h2 id="how-do-i-install-xonotic">How do I install Xonotic?</h2>
<p><strong>There is no need to install Xonotic!</strong> The zip file you downloaded from the homepage has everything. All binaries to run the game on Linux, Windows and macOS are inside of it. Just unzip the archive and run the appropriate executable for your OS.</p>
<p>For example, on Windows or macOS you can start the game by double-clicking the Xonotic logo. On Linux you can run xonotic-linux-glx.sh or xonotic-linux-sdl.sh - whichever one works better on your hardware.</p>
<h2 id="is-there-a-debian-package-available">Is there a Debian package available?</h2>
<p>There is an unofficial package available on <a href="http://www.playdeb.net/updates/ubuntu/17.04/?q=xonotic">playdeb.net</a>. Unfortunately, Xonotic is not in the Debian repositories yet. You can check the status of the bug report <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=646377">here</a>. If you can help us expedite this process, please contact us!</p>
<h2 id="how-do-you-pronounce-the-name-xonotic">How do you pronounce the name Xonotic?</h2>
<p>There are two pronunciations, depending on where you live.</p>
<p>US people are more likely to pronounce it : <em>zone + otic</em><br />
European people are more likely to pronounce it : <em>kso + notic</em></p>
<h2 id="how-and-why-did-you-choose-the-logo">How and why did you choose the logo?</h2>
<p>The logo design process took about a week, with a handful of people contributing designs, and constantly adjusting those designs based on feedback.</p>
<p>The phoenix image of the logo obviously refers to the concept of &ldquo;rising from the ashes&rdquo;.</p>
<p>Another aspect of the logo is the center ring, which has some similarities to the Quake logo; it has a fatter bottom edge and thinner top edge, though quake didn&rsquo;t use a complete ring shape. This is intended as a pay of respect to the Quake origins of the game, as the Darkplaces engine was originally based on the Quake 1 engine.</p>
<h1 id="troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</h1>
<h2 id="when-i-join-a-server-or-after-a-map-change-i-see-nothing-but-a-black-screen-but-i-can-still-move-and-shoot">When I join a server or after a map change I see nothing but a black screen, but I can still move and shoot</h2>
<p>This is probably because you don&rsquo;t have the map that&rsquo;s running on the server or it didn&rsquo;t download correctly. Try clearing your <em>dlcache</em> (in <a href="#config">&lt;your config folder&gt;</a>/data/dlcache) and restarting Xonotic.</p>
<p>For Linux users: you need to have libcurl installed, otherwise you won&rsquo;t be able to download any maps. libcurl should be available in any Linux distribution, just search for &ldquo;libcurl&rdquo; and install it in your distribution&rsquo;s package manager.</p>
<h2 id="can-t-launch-xonotic-on-macos-sierra-or-later">Can&rsquo;t launch Xonotic on macOS Sierra or later</h2>
<p>(Full error message: &ldquo;You have reached this menu due to missing or unlocatable content/data. You may consider adding -basedir /path/to/game to your launch commandline.&rdquo;)</p>
<p>In the Finder, control-click the app icon, then choose Open from the shortcut menu. Click Open on the dialog.</p>
<p>This happens because Xonotic is not signed using an Apple developer key.</p>
<h2 id="when-i-start-xonotic-all-i-see-is-a-black-screen-or-a-black-screen-with-some-checkered-squares">When I start Xonotic all I see is a black screen or a black screen with some checkered squares</h2>
<p>This happens when the engine can&rsquo;t load the data*.pk3 file or has trouble to initialize OpenGL. The reasons could be:</p>
<ul>
<li>You unpacked the zip file without folder names, see <a href="#how-do-i-install-xonotic">How do I install Xonotic?</a></li>
<li>On Linux: the current directory is not your Xonotic/ folder.</li>
<li>On Mac: you tried to extract and move the files from a Xonotic update and it deleted the old files. When using the mac GUI please be sure to move only the files not the folders as that will delete the old files or use the mv console command which will not delete the old files.</li>
<li>The engine could not initialize OpenGL. Please install the latest drivers for your graphic card. You will probably find one for your card there: <a href="http://intel.com">intel</a>, <a href="http://amd.com">AMD</a>, <a href="http://nvidia.com">nvidia</a>.</li>
<li>Your download might be corrupted, please download Xonotic again.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="using-linux-i-only-see-the-map-but-no-players-and-items">Using Linux I only see the map but no players and items</h2>
<p>This happens when the engine has trouble initializing OpenGL. The reasons could be:</p>
<ul>
<li>The engine could not initialize OpenGL. Please install the latest drivers for your graphic card. You will probably find one for your card there: <a href="http://intel.com">intel</a>, <a href="http://amd.com">AMD</a>, <a href="http://nvidia.com">nvidia</a>.</li>
<li>You do not have permissions needed for 3d acceleration. Usually you need to add yourself to the group video, you can do that via console as root like this: <em>usermod -a -G video YOURUSERNAME</em>. You need to logoff/in afterwards.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="when-i-start-xonotic-my-screen-is-flickering">When I start Xonotic my screen is flickering</h2>
<p>This is known to happen on Windows with Intel graphic chips and is a bug in the graphics drivers. A workaround is to set Flip-Policiy to blit. Open the control panel, there should be an icon called Intel&reg; GMA driver (or something like that), double click it. Click on 3D Settings to find the screen with those settings.</p>
<h2 id="how-can-i-speed-up-my-frame-rate">How can I speed up my frame rate?</h2>
<p>You can choose predefined performance settings in the Settings / Video menu or you can enable/disable single features. The greatest performance boost can be achieved by turning off dynamic lights and shadows in the Settings / Effects menu. Bloom is also quite resource intensive. Other fps boots include disabling Deluxemapping and Coronas. On older graphics cards or on-board/notebook chips with little video ram you can try to lower the texture quality in the Settings / Video menu. Some graphic cards (mostly ATI or quite old cards) run A LOT faster if you disable the Vertex Buffer Objects in the Settings / Video menu. An other thing that can greatly help on such cards is to disable the OpenGL 2.0 Shaders. Having that option enabled is faster on most cards however, that is why both are active by default.</p>
<p>If none of that helps, you can try compiling Xonotic from <a href="http://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/Repository_Access">source</a>.</p>
<h2 id="the-sound-is-broken-it-crackles-and-stutters">The sound is broken, it crackles and stutters</h2>
<p>Try run xonotic-sdl.exe instead of xonotic.exe (on Windows). Adding the command line options -sndspeed 48000 and/or -sndstereo can also help on some systems (on Linux, Mac, Windows).</p>
<h2 id="mouse-is-too-slow-and-sensitivity-is-at-top-on-mac-linux">Mouse is too slow and sensitivity is at top (on Mac / Linux)</h2>
<p>Mac: The default mouse acceleration on Mac is very high and strange. The Xonotic defaults work fine with it but some mouse drivers seem to &lsquo;correct&rsquo; the mouse acceleration and conflict with the Xonotic defaults. Try to <strong>disable the option Turn off OS mouse acceleration</strong> in the Settings / Input menu. Or the same via console: _apple_mouse_noaccel 0; vid<em>restart</em> (<a href="#how-do-i-open-the-console">How do I open the console?</a>)</p>
<p>Linux: A similar problem can arise on Linux. It&rsquo;s also Turn off OS mouse acceleration in the Settings / Input menu but the console command is different: _vid_dga 0; vid<em>restart</em> (<a href="#how-do-i-open-the-console">How do I open the console?</a>)</p>
<h2 id="i-can-t-switch-to-32-bit-color-depth-on-windows">I can&rsquo;t switch to 32 bit color depth (on Windows)</h2>
<p>Check if your desktop color depth is set to 32 bits per pixel. If it&rsquo;s just set to 16, Xonotic can&rsquo;t switch to 32 bit mode.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-report-crashes-and-bugs">How to report crashes and bugs</h2>
<p>Use our <a href="http://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic-data.pk3dir/issues">issue tracker</a> on Gitlab.</p>
<p>If you want to investigate further:</p>
<p>On Linux: In a xterm, cd into your Xonotic installation directory, start catchsegv ./xonotic-linux-686-sdl -condebug -developer &gt; crash.txt 2&gt;&amp;1 and give the file crash.txt to the developers. Note that you can also use ./xonotic-linux-686-glx or if you have a 64bit system ./xonotic-linux-x86_64-sdl and ./xonotic-linux-x86_64-glx</p>
<p>On Windows: Click Start-&gt;Run, and enter drwtsn32, click Ok in the next window, run Xonotic and wait for the crash. Then go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson there should be a file called &ldquo;drwtsn32.log&rdquo;, give that file along with the engine&rsquo;s build date to the developers. You&rsquo;ll see that date when you open the ingame console (How do I open the console?). Note that some folders of that path may be hidden or have a translated name if you&rsquo;re using a non-english windows.</p>
<h2 id="where-can-i-get-more-help">Where can I get more help?</h2>
<p>Visit the official Xonotic <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/">forum</a>, there is a support and bug report area. Or get on <a href="http://xonotic.org/chat">IRC</a> to chat with others or ask for help. There is the normal users channel (irc://irc.quakenet.org/xonotic) and the developers channel (irc://irc.freenode.net/xonotic)</p>
<h1 id="general-questions">General questions</h1>
<p><a name="config"></a></p>
<h2 id="where-are-the-configuration-files-located">Where are the configuration files located?</h2>
<ul>
<li>Linux: ~/.xonotic</li>
<li>Windows: C:\Users\&lt;your_user_name&gt;\Saved Games\xonotic</li>
<li>Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/xonotic
<ul>
<li>Library might be hidden on Mac so Finder won&rsquo;t display it</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="what-is-the-difference-between-the-config-and-install-directories">What is the difference between the config and install directories?</h2>
<p>The install directory is what you get when you unzip the downloaded file. We usually call it Xonotic. Since Xonotic (the game) doesn&rsquo;t need installation, Xonotic (the folder) can be anywhere you put it.</p>
<p>The config directory (sometimes called user directory) has a specific <a href="#config">location</a> depending on your OS but we usually call it ~/.xonotic since most players and devs are on linux. ~/.xonotic contains all your settings and it&rsquo;s where you can put additional maps or assets when experimenting with the game or running your own server.</p>
<h2 id="how-do-i-install-new-maps">How do I install new maps?</h2>
<p>Maps usually ship as .pk3 file. All you have to do is to copy this file to the <a href="#config">&lt;config folder&gt;</a>/data/ directory. Map packages that were downloaded from a server during playing end up in <a href="#config">&lt;your config folder&gt;</a>/data/dlcache/ and are only used till you exit Xonotic. If you want to play them locally or use them to setup a server of your own you can &ldquo;accept&rdquo; the packages by moving it one level up - right next to your config.cfg.</p>
<p>An extensive list of maps is at <a href="http://xonotic.co">xonotic.co</a></p>
<h2 id="how-can-i-place-a-shortcut-to-xonotic-on-my-linux-desktop">How can I place a shortcut to Xonotic on my Linux desktop?</h2>
<p>Use the script xonotic-linux-sdl.sh or xonotic-linux-glx.sh instead of the binaries. The scripts will use the correct working directory, choose the right version (32 or 64 bit) and also allow you to start a extra X server.</p>
<h2 id="how-do-i-open-the-console">How do I open the console?</h2>
<p>Press [shift]+[escape]. To close it press [escape]. While playing ` or ^ will also open the console.</p>
<h2 id="what-console-commands-variables-are-there">What console commands/variables are there?</h2>
<p>An searchable list is available <a href="http://www.xonotic.org/tools/cacs/">here</a>, or you can search in-game using <em>apropos</em> in console (<a href="#how-do-i-open-the-console">How do I open the console?</a>).</p>
<h2 id="how-can-i-use-colors-in-my-nickname-and-messages">How can I use colors in my nickname and messages?</h2>
<p>Colors can be used in nicknames and chat messages via two ways: Either the simple way by typing ^ followed by a number between 0 and 9 or by typing ^x followed by three hexadecimal numbers (0-F) representing red, green and blue components of the color before the text. The second way allows for much more colors. For example if you type ^xF00message the text &ldquo;message&rdquo; will be displayed in red color. Simple examples:</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>code</th>
<th>rgb code</th>
<th>color</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>^0</td>
<td>^x000</td>
<td>black</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^1</td>
<td>^xF00</td>
<td>red</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^2</td>
<td>^x0F0</td>
<td>green</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^3</td>
<td>^xFF0</td>
<td>yellow</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^4</td>
<td>^x00F</td>
<td>blue</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^5</td>
<td>^x0FF</td>
<td>cyan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^6</td>
<td>^xF0F</td>
<td>magenta</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^7</td>
<td>^xFFF</td>
<td>white</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^8</td>
<td></td>
<td>half-transparent black</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>^9</td>
<td>^x888</td>
<td>grey</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>^x800</td>
<td>dark red</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>^x080</td>
<td>dark green</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>^x880</td>
<td>dark yellow</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>^x008</td>
<td>dark blue</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>^x088</td>
<td>dark cyan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>^x808</td>
<td>dark magenta</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2 id="how-do-i-watch-record-demos">How do I watch/record demos?</h2>
<p>Demos are recordings of matches that you have played. To automatically record a demo each time you play enable the option Record demos while playing in the Multiplayer / Demos menu. Or if you just want to record some matches open the console and type rec <demos/name> before playing. That is before starting a game or connecting to a server. The demo file will then be stored in <a href="#config">your config folder</a>/data/demos/<name>.dem. If you downloaded a demo, copy it to <a href="#config">&lt;your config folder&gt;</a>/data/demos/<name>.dem. You might have to create this directory if you have never recorded a demo before. To watch demos you can choose a demo file in the Multiplayer / Demos and click the play button. Also you can watch demos typing <em>ply <demos/name></em> in the console (<a href="#how-do-i-open-the-console">How do I open the console?</a>). You can list all your demo files by typing <em>dem</em> on the console.</p>
<h1 id="server-setup">Server setup</h1>
<h2 id="how-do-i-start-a-server">How do I start a server?</h2>
<p>Use the Multiplayer / Create menu to start a listen server. You will always have to play yourself in a listen server. If you want to create a server without being forced to play yourself please take a look at the file readme.txt in the Xonotic/server/ directory where the dedicated server is explained.</p>
<h2 id="which-ports-do-i-have-to-open-in-firewall-forward-from-my-router-to-run-a-server">Which ports do I have to open in firewall/forward from my router to run a server?</h2>
<p>The default port is 26000 UDP. You can change that in the Multiplayer / Create menu or by starting Xonotic with the parameter -port <port> or having a line port <port> in the server config file. If you follow the tutorial mentioned above you do not need this command line argument as it will be done in the config file created for the server. To add the command line argument on Windows, create a new shortcut to xonotic.exe or xonotic-dedicated.exe and right click on it. Select properties and -port <port> in the &ldquo;Target:&rdquo; line. Be sure that the &ldquo;Start in:&rdquo; line contains the full path to your Xonotic folder and click &ldquo;OK&rdquo;. The parameter will be used if you start Xonotic via that new shortcut.</p>
<h2 id="is-there-some-kind-of-rcon">Is there some kind of rcon?</h2>
<p>Yes there is a QuakeWorld compatible rcon. To use it you must enter rcon_password <password> in the server console or server config file. The Xonotic client has to set the same password in the same fashion. You can then issue commands with rcon <command> if you are connected to the server or will have to set rcon_address <ip/hostname> or rcon_address <ip/hostname>:<port> to point to the server. There are also external rcon tools but make sure you use a QW compatible rcon tool.</p>
<h2 id="how-can-i-kick-people-who-are-using-special-characters-in-their-names">How can I kick people who are using special characters in their names?</h2>
<p>Enter status at the server console. You will see a list of all players. In front of their names you will see a number (the player id). You can kick the player you don&rsquo;t like with kick # <player id> <reason> (notice the space after #).</p>
<h1 id="nexuiz-related-faqs">Nexuiz Related FAQs</h1>
<h2 id="what-prompted-the-split-from-nexuiz">What prompted the split from Nexuiz?</h2>
<p><strong>Lee Vermeulen</strong>, the <a href="http://alientrap.org/nexuiz">Nexuiz project</a> founder, decided to license the Nexuiz code (with <strong>LordHavoc</strong> licensing the <a href="http://icculus.org/twilight/darkplaces/">Darkplaces engine</a>) to a new game development company named <a href="http://illfonic.com">Illfonic</a> so that they could develop a closed-source version for the PS3. As part of this deal, IllFonic acquired the rights to use the name Nexuiz along with the domain nexuiz.com, and are under no obligation to contribute code back to the open-source Nexuiz project (and have stated that they have no intention of doing so).</p>
<p>When this was announced, the response from the Nexuiz community was overwhelming negative, even among the development team and main contributors. Vermeulen had not actively participated in the project for several years and all development had been done by the community. Most members have expressed a sense of betrayal and cited the project as an example of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_management">mushroom management</a>. Vermeulen essentially cashed in on the hard work of others and sold the code, name and reputation that they had built up over years without him.</p>
<p>Despite attempts to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101212165111/http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&amp;t=6079">reason with IllFonic</a>, they have refused to change the name of their project to a derivative name even though they have directly stated that their &ldquo;version&rdquo; of Nexuiz is a completely different game. The hijacking of the Nexuiz project by its absentee founder and IllFonic made it clear that it had no future as it stood and thus the community left to found <strong>Xonotic</strong>.</p>
<p>It should also be noted that IllFonic&rsquo;s code may be in violation of the GPL as most contributors to the Nexuiz codebase have not relicensed their work for inclusion in a closed-source project. This has been another source of outrage for many.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> The GPL concerns have been cleared up by a recent <a href="http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/03/24/070234/DarkPlaces-Dev-Forest-Hale-Corrects-Nexuiz-GPL-Stance">interview with LordHavoc</a>.</p>
<h2 id="was-a-compromise-attempted">Was a compromise attempted?</h2>
<p>Yes, many in the Nexuiz community tried to <a href="http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&amp;t=6079">reach a compromise</a>, such as having Illfonic contribute some artwork and/or gamecode back to Nexuiz GPL and for them to use a derivative name for their project, e.g. &ldquo;Nexuiz Reloaded&rdquo;. <del>Illfonic <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101212220555/http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=76108&amp;f=7">flatly refused</a> all such suggestions.</del> This, along with the clear stance that Alientrap has taken on this issue, made it clear that no compromise could be reached.</p>
<p><strong>Update</strong> It has been clarified that, despite some of misleading wording in previous communication, Illfonic will be contributing <em>some</em> of the game code back to Nexuiz GPL, mainly having to do with bandwidth improvements and animation blending.</p>
<h2 id="do-you-despise-vermeulen-lordhavoc-or-illfonic">Do you despise Vermeulen, LordHavoc or Illfonic?</h2>
<p><strong>No!</strong> Without the past work of Vermeulen and LordHavoc, we would not have the game that we enjoy today. We wish them the best of luck in their endeavors. We hope Illfonic&rsquo;s Nexuiz on PS3 is successful. We simply have a difference of opinion on project management and the result is going to be very positive; We&rsquo;re forming a game project that matches what we wanted out of Nexuiz all along.</p>
Image Galleryhttp://xonotic.org/images/
Sun, 30 May 2010 14:33:10 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/images/
<h3 id="action">Action</h3>
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<h3 id="menu">Menu</h3>
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<h3 id="hud">HUD</h3>
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<h3 id="players">Players</h3>
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<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_seraphina-teal-green.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_seraphina-teal-green-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_seraphinamasked-pink-purple.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_seraphinamasked-pink-purple-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_ignis-yellow-blue.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_ignis-yellow-blue-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_ignis-masked-blue-purple.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_ignis-masked-blue-purple-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_ignishalfmasked-yellow-red.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_ignishalfmasked-yellow-red-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_gak-pink-green.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_gak-pink-green-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_gak-masked-orange-blue.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_gak-masked-orange-blue-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_gakarmored-purple-green.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_gakarmored-purple-green-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_erebus-teal.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_erebus-teal-200x200.png" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_erebus-blue-front.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2011/09/xonotic-image_model_erebus-blue-front-200x200.png" /></a></li>
</ul>
<p>You can download a <strong>media kit</strong> (66.2mb) with all of these images (and more) here: <a href="http://samual.nexuizninjaz.com/media-kit-20110907.7z">media-kit-20110907.7z</a></p>
Video Galleryhttp://xonotic.org/videos/
Sun, 30 May 2010 01:46:49 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/videos/
<h3 id="duel">Duel</h3>
<p>PCLizard faces off against Fisume in the 2012 duel grand finals.</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9ufjRoidV_E"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<h3 id="overkill">Overkill</h3>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7XhFIvAIktU"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<h3 id="defrag-xpm">Defrag (XPM)</h3>
<p>Justin shows us how to fly.</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iNgXfF3V2tY"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<h3 id="deathmatch">Deathmatch</h3>
<p>CuBe0wl frags some folks.</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rATAtep5Mkw"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<h3 id="capture-the-flag">Capture The Flag</h3>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nWgu9x5KZ4U"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<h3 id="nexball">Nexball</h3>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aLSdq9UcSOQ"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
Mediahttp://xonotic.org/media/
Sat, 29 May 2010 19:17:00 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/media/
<h3 id="featured-video">Featured Video</h3>
<h5 id="duel-mirio-vs-zeroql">Duel: Mirio vs. ZeroQL</h5>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ghp4HoYgL_Y"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>A duel on Xoylent between Mirio and ZeroQL for the Xonotic Duel League (XDL) grand final.</p>
<p>View other action-packed videos in the <a href="http://xonotic.org/media/video-gallery/">video gallery</a>.</p>
<h3 id="featured-screenshots">Featured Screenshots</h3>
<ul class="small-block-grid-4">
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_005.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_005_small.jpg" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_006.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_006_small.jpg" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_007.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_007_small.jpg" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_008.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_008_small.jpg" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_009.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_009_small.jpg" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_013.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_013_small.jpg" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_012.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_012_small.jpg" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_021.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/07/frontpage_021_small.jpg" /></a></li>
</ul>
<p>View other stunning pictures in the <a href="http://xonotic.org/media/image-gallery/">image gallery</a>.</p>
Welcome to Xonotic!http://xonotic.org/posts/2010/welcome-to-xonotic/
Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:14:33 +0000Ant Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/2010/welcome-to-xonotic/<p>We would like to formally announce the arrival of <a href="http://xonotic.org/">Xonotic</a> - A free (GPL), fast-paced first-person shooter that works on Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Xonotic is a direct successor of the <a href="http://alientrap.org/nexuiz">Nexuiz Project</a>.</p>
<p>Xonotic came about in the wake of recent troublesome <a href="http://xonotic.org/faq">changes</a> to the Nexuiz project, changes that have left many of the core contributors and community members feeling that the project has been <a href="http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&amp;t=6079">mishandled</a>. As a result, we felt the need to organize a departure to start with a clean slate.</p>
<p>**Xonotic ** will place focus on the things we love about Nexuiz, and extend our goals to become the game that many thought Nexuiz should have been.</p>
<p>While technically being a direct successor of Nexuiz, the <a href="http://xonotic.org/">Xonotic</a> project is a rethink of the Nexuiz project that recognizes the <strong>community</strong> around it as its principal driving force and will restructure itself to respect that. This means that there will never be a single person with total control over the project. In addition to the stronger focus on the community, Xonotic will also pursue a clearer agenda including the following:</p>
<p><strong>Game Changes:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>A new set of player models and animations</li>
<li>A new set of sounds</li>
<li>New music</li>
<li>Default maps will get a makeover</li>
<li>New stronger bot AI</li>
<li>New names for weapons and gamemodes (especially ones using the &ldquo;nex&rdquo; prefix)</li>
<li>Low quality content will be dropped and replaced with higher quality ones</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Project Changes:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Use of GIT versioning system instead of SVN</li>
<li>Better attention to marketing and public relations</li>
<li>A more defined artistic direction</li>
<li>More emphasis on recruiting</li>
<li>Better organization of contributors</li>
<li>More focus on community activities (tournaments, contests, etc)</li>
<li>More frequent releases</li>
<li>Global player stats tracking system, supporting anonymous player as well</li>
</ul>
<p>While we don&rsquo;t have a specific timeline for the first release under the new title, you can track the progress and updates on <a href="http://xonotic.org/">our website</a>, on <a href="http://twitter.com/xonotic">twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Xonotic/106450756044750">facebook</a> and in IRC: #xonotic on irc.quakenet.org</p>
<p>Please visit our <a href="http://xonotic.org/faq">FAQ page</a> for more detailed information about this project.</p>
<p>We look forward to creating a game that everyone can feel a part of. You are very much welcome to help in any way you can. We appreciate all of your support.</p>
<p>The Xonotic team.</p>
http://xonotic.org/tools/cacs/
Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 UTCAnt Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/tools/cacs/Note: this content isn't rendered. To edit what appears at this URL, edit /layouts/cacs/single.html.
http://xonotic.org/posts/archive/
Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 UTCAnt Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/posts/archive/Note: this content isn't rendered. To edit what appears at this URL, edit /layouts/archive/single.html.
Halogene's Newbie Cornerhttp://xonotic.org/guide/
Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 UTCAnt Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/guide/
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/09/newbie-corner-banner2.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/newbie-corner-banner-thumb.png" alt="Halogene's Newbie Corner" /></a></p>
<h1 id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#preface">Preface</a></li>
<li><a href="#movement">Movement</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#bunny-hopping">Bunny Hopping</a></li>
<li><a href="#blaster-jumping">Blaster Jumping</a></li>
<li><a href="#wall-blastering">Wall Blastering</a></li>
<li><a href="#ramp-jumping">Ramp Jumping</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#weapons">Weapons</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#blaster">Blaster</a></li>
<li><a href="#shotgun">Shotgun</a></li>
<li><a href="#machinegun">Machinegun</a></li>
<li><a href="#mortar">Mortar</a></li>
<li><a href="#electro">Electro</a></li>
<li><a href="#crylink">Crylink</a></li>
<li><a href="#vortex">Vortex</a></li>
<li><a href="#hagar">Hagar</a></li>
<li><a href="#devastator">Devastator</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#gameplay-tricks">Gameplay Tricks</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#weapon-comboing">Weapon Comboing</a></li>
<li><a href="#keyboard-setup">Keyboard Setup</a></li>
<li><a href="#splash-damage-travels-through-walls">Splash Damage Travels Through Walls</a></li>
<li><a href="#stay-healthy">Stay Healthy</a></li>
<li><a href="#listen">Listen</a></li>
<li><a href="#console-abc">Console ABC</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#optimizing-perception">Optimizing Perception</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#visuals">Visuals</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#damage-blur">Damage Blur</a></li>
<li><a href="#field-of-view">Field of View</a></li>
<li><a href="#visible-players">Visible Players</a></li>
<li><a href="#reducing-effects">Reducing Effects</a></li>
<li><a href="#picmip-and-simple-items">Picmip and Simple Items</a></li>
<li><a href="#crosshair">Crosshair</a></li>
<li><a href="#fine-tuning">Fine Tuning</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#audio">Audio</a></li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<h1 id="preface">Preface</h1>
<p>This tutorial aims at showing all fundamental aspects of vanilla gameplay to enable new players to pick up the ropes quickly. It includes the information of all six blog posts of the <a href="http://xonotic.org/posts/2014/halogenes-newbie-corner-comprehensive-tutorial/">Newbie Corner</a> as well as some new things that have changed or that I didn’t think about back then.</p>
<p>Note that all this applies to vanilla Xonotic. Whereas movement aspects should usually apply more or less unchanged to modified servers offering minstagib, vehicle ctf or <a href="http://xonotic.org/okguide">Overkill</a> gameplay, I will not explain the specifics of these game modifications/mutators - I simply lack the expertise in non-vanilla game modes. So if you want to fully apply the knowledge gained from this tutorial, search for vanilla servers (Xonotic icon next to it in server browser) or use the official [HUB] ones.</p>
<p>Remember that the Xonotic player community is generally considered a very friendly and helpful one and for many people (including me) this is the key aspect that gets one hooked to this game. If you meet very strong players online and wonder how they do certain things, it usually pays off to simply ask them. Most of the experienced players will take their time to shortly explain gameplay techniques to newbies if asked nicely. Some of them might even offer to show you around by giving you a short live tutorial. That’s how I myself learned about blaster jumping and strafe turning for example.</p>
<p>Even if the skill gap between you and another player is immense, it is highly improbable that the other player is cheating. There are a couple of mechanisms implemented in the game that effectively prevent cheating, and from my personal experience I am confident to say that cheating is not really an issue in Xonotic. The skill gap between newbies and experienced players mostly results from newbies not knowing gameplay mechanics and therefore lacking the ability to acquire skill in the first place. The purpose of this Newbie Corner is to allow any new player to develop the same skills that experienced players have already gained, simply by showing how it works.</p>
<h1 id="movement">Movement</h1>
<p>Even though people tend to be more interested in what the weapons do when they first try out a new first person shooter, I prefer to follow the structure that I established for my live newbie tutorials and to start off with the movement. Understanding and mastering Xonotic’s movement is a key success factor in this game, apart from making it incredibly fun to play once you get the hang of it. So let’s get started!</p>
<h2 id="bunny-hopping">Bunny Hopping</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/01/Bunnyhop-text.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/Bunnyhop-text-thumb.png" alt="Bunny Hopping" /></a></p>
<p>You may have noticed that players race around the maps at insane speeds, making them hard to hit and also hard to tell from which direction they’ll come next, should you survive an attack. You can do that too, and here’s how.</p>
<p>In Xonotic you have a lot of movement control while you are in the air (“air control”), and to a great extent you’ll accelerate when pressing the forward button while flying. When you just walk around though, your feet are in constant contact with the ground, so the friction is slowing you down a lot. One of the keys to gain high speeds in Xonotic is therefore to touch the ground as little as possible. By constantly jumping (“bunny hopping”) you can keep ground contact to a minimum. The good thing is that you only need to keep the jump button pressed and you will jump again once you hit the ground (unless of course you disabled that in Settings → Input). If you press the forward button while holding the jump button, you’ll continuously get faster until you hit the acceleration limit.</p>
<p>This is quite easy and there’s nothing really to master about plain forward bunny hopping. However, you’ll face complications if you now try to turn once you gained some speed. If you continue to press the forward key and simply turn the mouse, you’ll hardly manage to make a sharp turn (unless you stop jumping, which slows you down a lot). In order to perform sharper turns without loosing speed, thus making you more agile, do the following:</p>
<p>Before the turn, while still bunny hopping, release the forward key. Once you’ve released the forward key (while still keeping the jump key pressed), hold down the strafe key in the direction you want to turn (for sharp right turn: strafe right). Keep holding the jump key and the strafe key and smoothly and steadily turn your mouse into the strafe direction (in my example, right). It’s vital to move the mouse smoothly, because any abrupt sudden movements will slow you down. I can’t stress this aspect enough – a lot of newcomers that I told this technique basically got all the key pressing part right but fail at moving the mouse smoothly. Softly accelerate and decelerate the mouse turn and maintain a steady turn speed in between. The movement needs to be fluent and soft to get the full benefit. Also note that releasing the forward key while you’ve already pressed the strafe key will slow you down too, so be sure to use the right order. You’ll notice that if you do it right, you actually don’t lose speed in turns, but rather start to accelerate! This technique is called “strafe turning”.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/bunnyhop-comic.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/bunnyhop-comic-thumb.png" alt="Bunny Hopping Step by Step" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p>
<p>Once you’re done turning, you can release the strafe key and press forward key again or even directly switch to the other direction. A good way to practice this is to use forward only for inital acceleration, and then to do turns left and right running in an number eight-shaped figure (I recommend the main room in the map “afterslime” for that).</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/Bunnyhop-8shape.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/Bunnyhop-8shape-thumb.png" alt="Practice Figure for Strafe Turning" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p>
<p>It takes a while to get used to, but if you practice it, this goes into your cerebellum sooner or later (depending on your age, mostly) and then you’ll never think about it again! At that point you’ll be bunny hopping all over the place at high speed. Mastering this technique is very rewarding, since running around a map at high speed is a bunch of fun.</p>
<p>Beyond this, advanced techniques known from other games as “strafe jumping” and “circle jumping” can also be used, however their impact is limited in vanilla gameplay.</p>
<hr />
<blockquote>
<p><em>Strafe jumping</em> is about gaining additional speed when bunny hopping forward. Essentially you hold forward + strafe and point a bit into the strafe direction while bunny hopping and you constantly increase the angle slowly. When strafe jumping for distances longer than 4 or 5 of hops , you will have to switch the strafe (and turn) direction as you gradually bend your path into the strafe direction so you don&rsquo;t hop in a straight line, and also the effect comes from bending your direction and at some point you reach an angle that does not grant any additional acceleration any more, so you have to start over with a fresh angle.</p>
<p><em>Circle jumping</em> on the other hand is a technique used to gain extra speed out of the stand. It works only when you walk on the floor, so it&rsquo;s mainly used to gain a little extra speed before your first jump. That way of course you can reach farther distances with your first jump, as seen in Smilecythe&rsquo;s video about the <a href="https://youtu.be/-SMJx1OIDgk" title="Youtube: Mega Armor Jumps on Hub">Mega Armor jumps on HUB</a>. For circle jumping, you utilize a mechanic that increases your walking speed beyond the maximum speed you can gain by pressing plain forward. If you have the speedometer enabled, you will see that you can gain more than 500qu/s if you press forward, strafe and turn in the strafe direction rather fast and steadily. So what people do is that they make a quick 90 degree or even 180 degree with only forward + strafe key pressed (no jumping), and then they start to bunny hop (and strafe jump). This way they can start off with a bit more speed than by just starting a bunny hop. This is why many experienced players start a bunny hop with that awkward swipe that looks like they try to swing their weapon at someone.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p>These are techniques which are essential for Xonotic race mode / CTS where servers use cpma-like physics. In vanilla mode, the effect is limited but some times it may tip the scales or allow for certain jumps. If you would like to obtain a better understanding of how strafe jumping works, check out <a href="http://www.xonotic.org/2013/02/a-strafe-jumping-lesson-from-hero" title="Youtube: Strafe Jumping Lesson from Hero">Hero&rsquo;s strafe jumping lesson</a>. These techniques can be practiced best on the Xonotic CTS/Defrag servers, but I recommend to approach these servers as a platform for learning and training movement. Some maps are designed for people that have perfectionized the above mentioned movement techniques, so don&rsquo;t let the maps discourage you. On half of the maps offered there I for example have a hard time even reaching the first waypoint, let alone finishing it - but it&rsquo;s excellent training as it provides direct feedback (=fail) if you use the technique right.</p>
<h2 id="blaster-jumping">Blaster Jumping</h2>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/blaster-jumping.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/blaster-jumping_thumb.png" alt="Blaster Jumping" /></a></p>
<p>Let’s now have a look at two important aspects of a very useful movement tool in Xonotic, the blaster! While dealing somewhat low damage, the blaster is one of the most important weapons in Xonotic. It’s projectile creates a blast upon impact on any surface or object that deals little damage to players being nearby, but pushes such players away from the impact spot. That way, the push force of the blaster projectile impact can be used to move both other players and yourself around. You can test this easily by standing and shooting at the ground below you with the blaster. You’ll notice that you get pushed up into the air by the blast. Now if you jump at the same time, you can get pushed even higher. If you get the timing right, you can get very high, like from the upper platform to the roof or from the fan to crylink on the map Xoylent.</p>
<p>But you’ll not always want to do very high jumps, for example if you’re on the run and need to hit a passageway without bumping your head on an arch above it (like the mega armor on Stormkeep coming from Hagar). In such cases, it can be useful to fire downwards while you are already (or still) in the air during bunny hopping, allowing the blaster projectile to travel a short distance before impact and having more space between impact and yourself, so the push is not that strong.</p>
<p>You’ll have to experiment a bit with the timing of shooting and jumping to reliably achieve the desired jump heighth, but this will become muscle memory rather quickly since you’ll be using blaster jumps a lot in Xonotic gameplay.</p>
<h2 id="wall-blastering">Wall Blastering</h2>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/wall-blastering.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/wall-blastering_thumb.png" alt="Wall Blastering" /></a></p>
<p>Now, when accelerating fast, you won’t always want to do that vertically. Some times the first few bunny hops are not fast enough to reach a place (or to get out of a place) in time. With the technique of wall blastering you can easily reach rather high horizontal speeds instantly, out of the stand.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/wall-lasering-comic-1440x300.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/wall-lasering-comic-thumb.png" alt="Wall Blastering Step by Step" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p>
<p>To master wall blastering, you’ll obviously need a wall. While it would seem logic to use a wall that you can blaster off in a 90 degree angle with a blaster shot backwards, it is at least equally effective and easier to use a wall that is parallel to your desired movement direction. For practicing this, you start off standing next to that wall and are facing into the desired movement direction. Then you start a bunny hop by pressing foward and then the jump key. While in the air from your first jump, you flick around (to approximately 8 o’clock if the wall is left from you, 4 o’clock if the wall is right to you), shoot the blaster at the wall, aiming slightly above your head. If you shoot parallel or even down a bit, you’ll get a high upwards boost, wasting energy into vertical acceleration, so be sure to aim a little bit upwards! After the flick shot turn back to your desired movement direction and contine to bunny hop. Do not release the jump key during the entire process.</p>
<p>Now let’s tweak this a little more. You wouldn’t want to accelerate into your viewing direction when looking backwards during the flick shot, would you. That is why you should switch for the time you are not looking in your desired movement direction from the forward key to the respective strafe key (strafe right if you turn to a wall on your left, strafe left if you turn to a wall on your right). When turning back into movement direction, keep the strafe key pressed until you can switch to forward key again. You can use a smoother mouse movement for turning back at least for the last couple of degrees in order to gain extra acceleration as explained in <a href="#bunny-hopping">the Bunny Hopping section</a>. Also remember to release the forward key before pressing the strafe key, and vice versa!</p>
<p>Once you’ve learned how to reliably accelerate out of the stand with this technique, you can also use it while already bunny hopping in order to gain extra horizontal speed. Just flick around when passing a wall to gain an extra boost. Note that the blaster projectile always needs to travel a bit until it hits the wall. The faster you get, the less you need to turn backwards, since you’ll travel forwards while the blaster is on its way to the wall. At very high speeds you will even be able to shoot at 10 o’clock or 2 o’clock respectively, so you’re not even facing backwards any more! But most maps don’t allow for such fast movement. Experiment and learn at which speed to use what angle, and you’ll be a fast flag runner very soon!</p>
<h2 id="ramp-jumping">Ramp Jumping</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/RampJumping-full.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/RampJumping-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jumping" /></a></p>
<p>Ramps are sloped surfaces that can be used for extra upwards boost when doing a jump. If done properly, you can get to places you would not be able to reach without using a jump pad or the blaster (see the <a href="#blaster-jumping">section about blaster jumps</a>), while not making any suspicious noises nor loosing any health. This makes ramp jumps especially useful in duels or 2v2 tdm matches and generally extends your movement options in all game modes. Ramp jumps are also very much fun to do!</p>
<p>In my “live” newbie tutorials, I always demonstrate the ramp jump on this spot on the map Xoylent, as it’s rather easy to master and you get the idea how it actually works:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/Xoylent-ramp1.final_1.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/Xoylent-ramp1.final-thumb.png" alt="Basic Ramp Jump on Xoylent" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p>
<p>To do a ramp jump, you simply jump onto the sloped surface and jump again. Of course you can keep the jump button pressed for convenience, as with bunny hopping you will automatically jump again when hitting the sloped surface. Now this sounds awfully easy to do, and it wouldn’t be a proper challenge to master if that was all you got to do, would it. So let’s have a close look at the technical aspects behind it.</p>
<p>The easiest way to make a ramp jump boost you up high is to approach the ramp frontally (see figure below), not sideways or parallelly (unless of course you’re doing a strafe turn jump upwards the ramp, but hey this is a newbie guide!). See below what I mean with “approach the ramp frontally”:</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/rampjumping-easy.hard_.final_.jpg"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/rampjumping-easy.hard_.final-thumb.jpg" alt="How to approach Ramps" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p>
<p>Make sure that you hit the ramp at a flat angle (seen from the side, as in the image below). If possible, try to hit it when still going upwards from your previous jump. If you’re already on your way down from the previous jump when you hit the ramp, the angle at which you hit it will be steeper - if the angle is too steep or even 90 degree you’ll get slowed down and the ramp won’t give you the desired upwards boost.</p>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/rampjumping-angle.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/rampjumping-angle.final-thumb.png" alt="Right way to jump onto a Ramp" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p>
<p>The faster you are, the higher you will get. Ramp jumps that require a higher than walking speed to do are especially tricky, since you will need to bunny hop onto them and time your jumps so you hit the ramp at a good angle. In some cases, you’ll be able to ramp jump onto another ramp, which will result in a double ramp jump.</p>
<p>You will find ramps on a lot of maps, if you look for them. Now that I’ve shown you the mechanics behind ramp jumping, I’ll include some examples of ramp jumps in some of the stock maps for you to try out.</p>
<h3 id="xoylent">Xoylent</h3>
<ul>
<li><p>The ramp I showed as first example on Xoylent can also be used to get to the vortex platform. It’s easier if you use the right corner of the ramp for this jump.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/xoylent-ramp-1.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/xoylent-ramp-1-thumb.png" alt="Ramp to Vortex on Xoylent" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>At mega health you can do a double ramp jump up to crylink, the pipes serve as second ramp. Note that you don’t have to approach these ramps frontally as you can compensate the lower upwards boost by using the second ramp.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/xoylent-ramp-2.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/xoylent-ramp-2-thumb.png" alt="Double Ramp on Xoylent" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>One of the most tricky ramp jumps I’m going to show you here is the one from devastator to mega health. Unless you do a <a href="http://www.xonotic.org/2013/02/a-strafe-jumping-lesson-from-hero">circle jump</a>, this one is not possible to my knowledge to do with walking speed, so you’ll have to do a bunny hop onto the ramp. I always start between the devastator’s spawn point and the wall behind it, start a bunny hop and usually hit the ramp at the right time then. You’ll have to experiment a bit and find the good starting point for you, then you can reproduce that jump and start to get a feeling how you can do it in-game on the fly, without stopping at your favorite starting point. When turning around after the ramp jump you can switch from the forward key to the appropriate strafe key in order to lose less speed, but it’s not required to perform that jump.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/xoylent-ramp-3.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/xoylent-ramp-3-thumb.png" alt="Ramp to Mega Health on Xoylent" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="afterslime">Afterslime</h3>
<ul>
<li><p>On Afterslime you can walk up to the little barrel below mortar and jump just as you reach it, it will take you up to mortar. Those barrels can be a bit tricky if you use their center for jumping, it seems using the solid corners of the barrels works best for me. Approach the barrel frontally by walking, there is no need for a pre-jump.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/afterslime-mortar.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/afterslime-mortar-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Mortar on Afterslime" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>From the stairs you can take a shortcut to the gangway where the electro is by using that fancy object over here. This can be quite useful if someone is expecting you to take the longer but more obvious way through the mortar room.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/afterslime-electro.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/afterslime-electro-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Electro Gangway on Afterslime" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>The very same jump can be done from electro gangway up to the upper passageway near strength room. Using this jump enables you to avoid making suspicious noises by using the jump pad or the blaster.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/afterslime-electro.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/afterslime-strength-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Strength Room on Afterslime" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>A very nice trickjump is the one to mega armor. You can do this one on both sides of the mega armor room. Remember to use the solid corner of the barrel. Walk up to the barrel and jump as you reach it, keep jump button pressed and use the little ramp on the pillar for pushing you right up to the top of the pillar. This jump is very hard to do on the fly out of a bunny hop, as you’ll be probably approaching the first ramp too fast which will boost you up too much to use the second ramp properly, so walking speed is recommended here.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/afterslime-mega-armor.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/afterslime-mega-armor-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Strength Room on Afterslime" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="stormkeep">Stormkeep</h3>
<p>Stormkeep has a lot of easy ramp jumps, as stormkeep’s ramps are mostly long and therefore easy to bunny hop onto.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The first one is a very easy one, you shouldn’t have any difficulties with doing that one.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/stormkeep-25armortunnel1.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/stormkeep-25armortunnel1-thumb.png" alt="Easy Ramp to Tunnel on Stormkeep" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>Also the other side of the warpzone can be used as a ramp, you’ll need a bit more speed though to do this one, so gain some by a couple of pre-jumps.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/stormkeep-25armortunnel2.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/stormkeep-25armortunnel2-thumb.png" alt="Alternative Ramp to Tunnel on Stormkeep" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>Probably the most useful jump on stormkeep. If you are too slow to make the jump directly to mega health from the little platform beside the stairs leading down there, head to the right and do a ramp jump up the stairs as shown here. No need to take the longer route via the small armor shards, which are placed so uniquely that any experienced player can tell EXACTLY where you are when you pick those up in a row and could intercept you before you reach the mega health.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/stormkeep-megahealth.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/stormkeep-megahealth-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Mega Health on Stormkeep" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>This is a nice way to get to the top of the warpzone without making any noise in order to surprise someone that you expect to come through the warpzone soon. You’ll need quite some speed, it’s recommended to start prejumps in the tunnel system where the small armor shards are (below Crylink).<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/stormkeep-warpzone.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/stormkeep-warpzone-thumb.png" alt="Ramp onto Warpzone on Stormkeep" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="runningman">Runningman</h3>
<ul>
<li><p>On runningman, you can use the very tiny ramp at the edge of the floor to jump up to the higher level where crylink is placed. You’ll have to jump just before you bump into the wall in order to make it, it takes some practice but it is doable reliably once you figured it out.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/runningman-crylink.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/runningman-crylink-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Crylink on Runningman" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>You can bend the jump above so it takes you directly to the mega armor. However, this requires a lot of practice to reliably succeed. In-game I’d recommend to stick with the jump to crylink side and from there jump over to mega armor unless you know for sure you master the bended jump. I consider this jump the hardest one of all that I show you here.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/runningman-megaarmor.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/runningman-megaarmor-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Mega Armor on Runningman" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>The ledges at hagar also serve as ramps, you can use them for a double ramp jump from the lower level up to the higher one like this. Note that when you are doing this on the fly out of a bunny hop, you might even be able to skip the upper ramp jump as the first one will take you all the way up already if you have enough speed.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/runningman-hagar-double.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/runningman-hagar-double-thumb.png" alt="Double Ramp Jump at Hagar on Runningman" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>This jump up to mortar works most reliably for me when I walk up to the ramp and jump just before I touch it. It’s the easiest way to get get up there without having to traverse the very open space or making a blaster jump (which makes noise).<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/11/runningman-mortar.final_.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/runningman-mortar-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Mortar on Runningman" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="glowplant">Glowplant</h3>
<p>Glowplant is so full of ramps that I don’t even know where to start. I won’t be able to display all of the possible ramp jumps, just a selection to give you the general idea where to look for what kind of ramps.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>These lamps are all over the place. Here you can get to strength room. You might want to make a second jump on the broken tiles if you don’t get up in one jump.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-strength.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-strength-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Strength on Glowplant" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>If you turn around where you started the jump to strength you’ll find another lamp on the other side, and even on the jump pad side of the plateau below mega health (as you see here). You can use either of them to get to the upper level just below mega health without triggering the noise of the jump pad.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-below-mega.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-below-mega-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump below Mega Health on Glowplant" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>From outside, you can also get to the plateau below mega health if you use one of the ramps next to the jump pad. You might want to gain some speed by pre-jumping, though it is possible to make the jump more or less out of the stand.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-pad.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-pad-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump from outside to plateau below Mega Health on Glowplant" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>To get from the level below mega health up to the mega health without triggering another jump pad noise, you can use this little ramp to jump onto the broken ladder, which you then can climb through the hole.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-ladder.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-ladder-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to ladder leading to Mega Health on Glowplant" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>From the vortex you can use these little lamps to get to the 50 health on the pipe.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-nex.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-nex-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to 50 Health from Vortex on Glowplant" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>From bottom level outside you can get to the devastator using the broken pillar.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-rocket.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-rocket-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Devastator on Glowplant" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>This is a very nice ramp jump that’s essentially a double ramp jump with a follow-up ramp jump on the small pipe. You’ll usually land on the flat level of the pipe before hitting the pipe ramp, so it doesn’t really count as a triple ramp jump but still it is very useful in order to get to the devastator platform without using the slow vent shaft.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-crates.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-crates-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Devastator Level via the Crates on Glowplant" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
<li><p>Those handy little lamps everywhere… here you can use one to get to the vortex level from devastator.<br />
<a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-upper-level.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/glowplant-upper-level-thumb.png" alt="Ramp Jump to Vortex Level from Devastator Level on Glowplant" /></a><br />
<em>click to view full size</em></p></li>
</ul>
<p>These are just a few examples where to find ramps on Xonotic maps and how to use them. Keep your eyes open for ramps and interesting jumps to do with them, as most mappers put some ramps at strategic places. Ramp jumping is a lot of fun and mastering this technique can give you a real advantage over other players!</p>
<p>Of course you can combine ramp jumping with <a href="#blaster-jumping">blaster jumping</a> to gain an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TETTtt5r86s">extra strong upwards boost</a>.</p>
<h2 id="weapons">Weapons</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2012/12/WEAPONS.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/WEAPONS-thumb.png" alt="The Weapons" /></a></p>
<p>Since we’ve now learned how to master Xonotic movement, it’s time to have a look at the weapons. I’ll go through Xonotic’s core weapons one by one.</p>
<h3 id="blaster">Blaster</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Blaster.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Blaster_thumb.png" alt="Blaster" /></a></p>
<p>I already explained the blaster as versatile movement tool in <a href="#blaster-jumping">the Blaster Jumping Section</a>. Apart from moving yourself around, you can also use it for juggling around <em>other</em> players, irritating annyoing campers or generally messing with other people’s movement. Pushing people around or forcing a prolonged bunny hop can be especially effective on space maps. Unless shooting at sitting ducks (such as campers), you might want to aim at your target’s feet to make use of its splash damage, as the blaster projectile needs some time to travel even though it is rather fast, thus aiming directly at moving targets can be rather tricky.</p>
<p>The blaster does not eat any ammo. Secondary fire will switch to the previously used weapon.</p>
<h3 id="shotgun">Shotgun</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Shotgun.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Shotgun_thumb.png" alt="Shotgun" /></a></p>
<p>The shotgun is your second spawn weapon. Primary fire is very powerful in close combat and, due to the bullets’ spread and being insta hit, a useful finishing weapon at medium range. Note that the push force of primary fire will slow down targets moving towards you, which can be very effective on space maps at spots where players are supposed to touch down from distant jump pads. If you shoot them with shotgun while they are still flying, they probably won’t make it to their usual landing spot.</p>
<p>The secondary fire mode allows you to swing the shotgun like a big trout and to slap other players, which is, apart from dealing rather lots of damage, very much fun to do.</p>
<h3 id="machinegun">Machinegun</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/MachineGun.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/MachineGun_thumb.png" alt="Machinegun" /></a></p>
<p>The machine gun’s (or “uzi’s”) primary fire has a high spread, so it’s useful mostly in close to medium range. Secondary fire has lower spread and shoots small bursts, which is more useful at medium to longer ranges. As the machine gun projectiles have a little push force and are fired rapidly, it can be quite useful for slowing down players that come at you at high speeds. In fact, it’s hard to get into slapping range of someone that has a steady aim as long as such player is firing the machine gun.</p>
<p>You’ll notice a ring around your crosshair that shows the depleting ammo. Once it is empty, the machine gun automatically reloads. To avoid running around with a couple of bullets only and having to reload in the middle of a battle (which takes far too much time), you can reload the machine gun manually at a convenient time by using the “reload” bind that you can set up or by re-pressing the machine gun bind while already wielding the machine gun.</p>
<h3 id="mortar">Mortar</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/uploads/93f1ac02ce277908480bc953fafd5a16/Mortar.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/uploads/de93c9e5ab17eaeb078a588c29e7b175/Mortar-thumb.png" alt="Mortar" /></a></p>
<p>The mortar fires ballistic grenades which deal a lot of direct and splash damage in addition to pushing the player away from the impact. Whereas primary fire detonates upon impact, secondary fire detonates exactly 0.5 seconds after the first bounce of the grenade. With this knowledge you can time the detonation of secondary mortar. Mortar is a very effective weapon against any non-flying targets and to spam around corners.</p>
<h3 id="electro">Electro</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Electro.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Electro_thumb.png" alt="Electro" /></a></p>
<p>The electro primary behaves like an ordinary rocket launcher as you might know it from other games. However, it’s not really useful for doing high jumps. The secondary fire mode looks like some ordinary sluggish grenade like balls, but has a not so obvious special function: if you detonate the up to three blobs the secondary fire mode can release with primary fire, they will explode with a big WOOOSH that deals a lot of direct and splash damage (around 130 dmg!). This makes the electro especially useful for blocking entries, releasing upon several opponents that are busy fighting each other or spamming where you predict someone to come. Note that you only have to directly hit the balls when trying to set it off mid-air. Otherwise the splash of the primary&rsquo;s impact on a surface nearby is sufficient to set off the combo-explosion. This means that you can even set it off through walls (shooting blobs around a corner and hitting wall with primary) or even mid-air (just shoot through where your blobs fall).</p>
<h3 id="crylink">Crylink</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Crylink.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Crylink_thumb.png" alt="Crylink" /></a></p>
<p>The crylink has a couple of very non-obvious features, which makes this weapon rather interesting and unique. First of all, due to negative (!) push force, getting hit by crylink particles will effectively slow you down very much, no matter of the direction you’re moving in in relation to the firing player. Even if you move at insane speeds, getting hit by several crylink particles at once will make you perform a full stop. This makes the crylink very popular amongst defending CTF players, as you can really annoy fast flag runners with it provided you manage to hit them.</p>
<p>The latter can, however, be quite tricky, given the high spread crylink primary has. Fortunately, crylink has another feature that is very unlikely to be discovered unless someone tells you about it: when you release primary fire, the spread of crylink primary will inverse. Let that sink in for a moment.</p>
<pre><code>&quot;When you release primary fire, the spread of crylink primary will inverse&quot;
</code></pre>
<p>Got it? This means that if you press the primary fire button, the particles will get fired with a certain spread. As long as you keep the primary fire button pressed, the spread will stay constant. Once you release it, the spread inverses, which means <strong>all particles traverse a single spot</strong>. Now the trick is to time the release so that as many as possible particles hit the opponent. The more particles you manage to land on the target, the more drastical the negative push effect will obviously be.</p>
<p>Crylink secondary does not have the spread inversion feature, the particles leave the gun at a very low and constant spread. The particles of secondary fire are faster than primary fire, and they don’t bounce. Their negative push force can be used on other players to break their movement (especially trick jumps) and even to pull them drastically if you manage to hit them in mid-air.</p>
<p>It wouldn&rsquo;t be Xonotic if you couldn&rsquo;t use the unique negative push force for movement as well. If you start a bunny hop and, just when you started to go up from your first hop, hit the floor with crylink secondary at about an angle of 45 degrees in front of you. The negative push of the implosion in front of you will catapult you forward (“crylink running”). This is probably the most efficient way to gain speed from stand. You can also use it to climb walls if you face a wall, jump and shoot the wall above your head with crylink secondary. Crylink climbing is also the most effective way to save you from falling off maps, provided there&rsquo;s a wall close by.</p>
<h3 id="vortex">Vortex</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Vortex.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/wikis/assets/images/Vortex_thumb.png" alt="Vortex" /></a></p>
<p>In the hands of a player with a good aim the vortex is probably the most powerful weapon in the entire game. It fires a single beam with zero spread that will instantly hit anything in its way and will even shoot through other players. You’ll notice a small ring around the crosshair when holding the vortex in your hands. If the ring is full, the vortex is charged (and also starts to glow red). Charging happens automatically once you hold the weapon, and it does not cost any ammo. Upon firing, the vortex obviously discharges and starts to recharge unless you switch to another weapon (what you should do, but more about weapon combos <a href="#weapon-comboing">later</a>). If charged, the vortex deals 80 dmg, if you shoot with it immediately again, it deals 64 dmg, minimum damage you can deal with vortex is 59 (if you switch to another weapon immediately after shooting and then shoot vortex immediately after reswitching to vortex, so it doesn’t have the refire time for recharging).</p>
<p>Secondary fire only zooms in, as the weapon is strong enough as it is even without a secondary fire mode.</p>
<h3 id="hagar">Hagar</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/uploads/ef2ff2d57348dd661e4cfe4bb5777b04/Hagar.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/uploads/2742ae22aeb5e5abc98bbb31adea67d3/Hagar-thumb.png" alt="Hagar" /></a></p>
<p>The hagar rapidly fires small rockets, since 0.8.2 without spread. By holding secondary you can load up to 4 rockets that you can fire simultaneously in a three-tip-star formation by releasing secondary fire. If you hold secondary fire too long, hagar will make a little beep and automatically release the loaded rockets so you can’t run around the map and just keeping hagar loaded all the time until you find someone. Unloading hagar secondary can deal a lot of damage at close range, however you’ll need to watch out not to get killed yourself by the splash damage it does. The high splash makes this weapon quite useful against opponents standing next to a wall so the rockets that miss will at least do splash damage. Due to the removed spread compared to 0.8.1, hagar can now also be used on long distances effectively, with the travel time of the projectiles opening yet another bit of gameplay depth. On most competitive servers you’ll be able to discharge the hagar secondary without firing the rockets by pressing primary again while still holding secondary.</p>
<h3 id="devastator">Devastator</h3>
<p><a href="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/uploads/6e5d3a1ae5fa2f3e269af0cb099e1086/Devastator.png"><img src="https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/uploads/7e6c49a82cc34f0d1efa2502a09d4df1/Devastator-thumb.png" alt="Devastator" /></a></p>
<p>The devastator also has some very interesting features that are not very typical for this kind of weapon. First of all you can use the secondary fire to immediately detonate remotely any rocket you fired (provided of course it is still flying). No need to hit a flying target directly, just get the rocket near and, BAM, there you go. Apart from the high splash damage, the explosion also deals quite a lot of push force, so if you want to push some flying player off the map, devastator is your weapon of choice as you can not only push players away from you (push direction obviously depends on the explosion’s position in relation to the player).</p>
<p>But not enough, you can of course also use the devastator to push <strong>yourself</strong> around. If you happen to be flying and need some extra acceleration but there is no wall near to blaster yourself off, just shoot a rocket downwards and immediately detonate it. Yes, it hurts. A lot. But it might be worth it, be it to push you back onto the map if you are falling into the void or to prolong a blaster jump so you manage to reach a distant location. This technique is called “rocket flying”.</p>
<p>You think I’m already done with the devastator? Not yet! In addition to this already very useful feature to remotely detonate your rockets you can also <strong>guide</strong> the rockets. Just keeping the primary fire button pressed and moving the mouse enables you to do some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqfqWtXwjic">interesting stuff</a> which can come in very handy in all sorts of situations.</p>
<p>Of course you can combine rocket guiding and remote detonation.</p>
<h1 id="gameplay-tricks">Gameplay Tricks</h1>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/Gameplay-Tricks.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/Gameplay-Tricks-thumb.png" alt="Gameplay Tricks" /></a></p>
<p>Now that we’ve been examining movement and weapons, the air for new newbie stuff is starting to get thinner and thinner. In this section I’ll be providing some general gameplay hints that hopefully will make your life as a newbie out there on the servers easier – and longer :)</p>
<h2 id="weapon-comboing">Weapon Comboing</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/combo.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/combo-thumb.png" alt="Weapon Comboing" /></a></p>
<p>First of all, Xonotic encourages the usage of weapon combos. How so? Well, if you shoot, you will have to wait a short while (the refire time) until that weapon is able to shoot again, unless you’re holding a constant or rapid fire weapon (currently only hagar and mg). The refire time is rather short so it doesn’t feel like limiting you much if you’re not aware of the concept of weapon combos. But if you switch your weapon immediately after you shoot, you can land a second shot with the second weapon faster than you would be able to with a second shot of the first weapon, as the refire time is longer than the weapon switch delay. This way you are able to deal more damage per second by combining different weapons. Additionally, combining weapons also enables you to combine the specific benefits of two weapons, like slowing down a fast target with crylink in order to be able to easier finish it off with an instahit gun such as vortex.</p>
<h2 id="keyboard-setup">Keyboard Setup</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/keyboard.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/keyboard-thumb.png" alt="Keyboard Setup" /></a></p>
<p>This leads to the problem that it’s terrible difficult for any orthopedic healthy and sane person to do weapon combos efficiently and reliably with the default keyboard layout or (omg!) the mouse wheel. Fortunately, Xonotic allows you to re-configure the entire keyboard bindings very easily (settings window → input tab). I consider direct weapon binds per weapon the easiest way to access any weapon immediately, and would strongly recommend to place the relevant binds around your movement keys or on extra mouse buttons your desktop rodent may have. You will have to find a solution that feels comfortable for you, which might require some experimenting. I for example moved my movement keys from wasd to esdf in order to have more keys available around my movement keys for weapon binds. But that’s just an example, you’ll have to find out what works best for you.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, impacts on your playing skills that result from redesigning your keyboard layout will, once you found a comfortable setup, be temporary only and the change WILL pay off in the longrun. Being able to pick the right weapon for the job instantly by means of a finger reflex is a great advantage in a FPS that is as fast paced as Xonotic.</p>
<h2 id="splash-damage-travels-through-walls">Splash Damage Travels Through Walls</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/splash.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/splash-thumb.png" alt="Splash Damage Travels Through Walls" /></a></p>
<p>Another thing you should be aware of is that splash damage travels through walls. Knowledge of this fact can come in very handy at various situations. Especially if you know or suspect someone to be on a higher level above you and the ceiling is thin, you can just try a lucky mortar or devastator shot at the ceiling. The hit indicator sound (that little beep) will tell you if your guess was right. If you’re very confident about the location of your opponent, you can even unleash an electro combo (see the <a href="#electro">weapons part above, electro</a>) at the ceiling, which works surprisingly well and does a great amount of splash damage, but takes a bit more time to do.</p>
<p>Using splash damage that travels through walls is a very useful and secure technique, as the opponent will obviously not be able to fire back at the same time.</p>
<h2 id="stay-healthy">Stay Healthy</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/healthy.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/healthy-thumb.png" alt="Stay Healthy" /></a></p>
<p>This is something which is almost too obvious to be included here, but I’ve seen so many new players running right past health and armor pickups without taking them. In Xonotic, your starting health of 100 can be brought below zero very quickly. It takes any experienced player two shots to accomplish this, which typically are a two weapon combo so this goes <strong>really</strong> fast. If <strong>one</strong> player can finish you off that fast, imagine how long your life lasts in a typical <strong>eight</strong> player deathmatch. This is why it is absolutely crucial to pick up any health and armor you might find on your way, unless of course this puts you in a dangerous position that outweighs the advantages of a health/armor boost. A mega armor or mega health gives you additional 100 health or armor points respectively, which obviously equals the amount of damage you can take with your starting health – you could consider a mega armor or mega health an extra life. Megas respawn within 30 seconds of being taken.</p>
<p>However, note that if you are above 100 health/armor, both health and armor will start to rot down to 100 a short while after you picked up your last health or armor respectively. The higher above 100 you are, the faster the rot goes. On the other hand if you are below 100 health, your health will start to regenerate a short while after you took damage for the last time. Again, the lower your health is, the faster it regenerates. This means if you get out of a battle with really low health and there is no health pickup anywhere near, it can be a good idea to retreat to a place out of action until you managed to regenerate a bit. Armor obviously does not regenerate.</p>
<h2 id="listen">Listen</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/02/listen.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/listen-thumb.png" alt="Listen" /></a></p>
<p>The fewer players you have in a match, the more important it gets to listen to the sounds they make. Each armor or health pickup size has its own distinctive pickup sound. Pickup sounds are louder and therefore easier to notice even at some distance than footsteps. If you know where which pickups are on the map you’re playing, you’ll be very often able to know where other players are before seeing them just by listening to the pickup sounds they make.</p>
<p>Also note that the sound a player makes when getting hit varies depending on how low that player’s health is. When you hit a player and you hear the characteristic “very low health groan” (most newbies know that sound primarily from their own player model… :D), you’ll know that you’ll only need to deal a few damage points to finish that player off, so you can go for fast high spread (machinegun, shotgun) or fast splash damage weapons (crylink). Listening is an essential part of duel gameplay.</p>
<h2 id="console-abc">Console ABC</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/Console-ABC.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/Console-ABC-thumb.png" alt="Console ABC" /></a></p>
<p>Though the Xonotic menu is very powerful and offers almost every option you could wish for, some times it is faster and simpler to change settings via the built-in console. You can open the console by pressing <code>&lt;Shift&gt; &lt;ESC&gt;</code>. Now you have a command prompt where you can query and change settings or execute commands. If you already know how a command you are going to type is called, you can just type the first few letters and hit <code>&lt;TAB&gt;</code>. This will automatically complete the command. If the letters match several possible commands, it will auto-complete to the extent all potential completions match and show you all potential completions. For example, typing <code>cross</code> in console and hitting <code>&lt;TAB&gt;</code> will auto-complete to <code>crosshair</code> and show the commands like <code>crosshair</code>, <code>crosshair_alpha</code>, &hellip;. If you try this you will notice the console will show you not only the possible command completions, but also more info to each possible completion: what is its current (local!) setting, what is its default setting (in square brackets) and a short description what the command does.</p>
<p>In most cases you won’t know the exact command to type, and this is where a special command will help you: <code>apropos</code>. If you, for example, want to know how to do change screen resolution, you can just type <code>apropos resolution</code> into console, and the console will spit out all commands with description that have the string “resolution” in their name or in their description.</p>
<p>A very important and widely used console command is the command to call a vote. If you want to see what votes are allowed on a server, type <code>vhelp</code>. To call a vote (for example, to end the match), type <code>vcall &lt;vote&gt;</code> (in my example <code>vcall endmatch</code>).</p>
<p>If you’d like to know more about the Xonotic console, check out <a href="http://forums.xonotic.org/showthread.php?tid=2987">BlaXpirit’s forum thread about console tips and tricks</a>. In case you find consoles a little too nerdy, you can change game settings in a similar detailedness also via the “Advanced Settings” dialog located in the Settings Window → Misc Tab. The search function there works just like the apropos command in the console.</p>
<h1 id="optimizing-perception">Optimizing Perception</h1>
<p>Xonotic aims to be pretty and to offer an immersive gameplay experience by using realistic lighting, complex particle effects and a harmonious sound environment. Whereas all these elements may help you to dive deeper into the game atmosphere, they also provide an overhead of information for you to process that sometimes has no other use than creating such atmosphere. In some cases this can even lead to gameplay relevant information getting lost under such overhead. This section deals with configuring Xonotic so you can see and hear well at the cost of atmosphere (a lot of which will get lost in the process).</p>
<p>To apply the tweaks I’ll resort to showing console commands mostly, simply because it is much shorter to just show the command here than to describe the menu path where to set the relevant configuration option. So be sure to have read <a href="#console-abc">the Console ABC section</a> if you’re not already familiar with the Xonotic console.</p>
<h2 id="visuals">Visuals</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/effects.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/effects-double-thumb.png" alt="Visuals" /></a></p>
<p>First of all let me state that I myself usually play with more or less regular settings because I like to experience the great work developers, modelers and mappers have done to create decent graphics. But if you intend to play competitively, it can be to your advantage to lower the complexity of what is displayed in order to be able to fully focus on the information that is relevant for your gameplay. In this section I will try to point out a couple of settings that can help reduce complexity while maintaining all relevant information. Be warned though, if you follow all suggestions contained in this section your game will look pug-ugly to say the best.</p>
<h3 id="damage-blur">Damage Blur</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/damageblur.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/damageblur-thumb.png" alt="Damage Blur" /></a></p>
<p>The first thing to do is to disable the damage blur. Getting hit is already bad enough, you won’t want to punish yourself with temporary blindness additionally. This is so crucial that I even disabled this “feature” in the left screenshot above in the “Visuals” caption, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to see a thing there. If you haven’t done so already, disable this by doing</p>
<pre><code>hud_damage_blur 0
</code></pre>
<p>While we’re at it, we can also reduce the damage flash when getting hit:</p>
<pre><code>hud_damage 0.4
</code></pre>
<h3 id="field-of-view">Field of View</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/fov-double.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/fov-double-thumb.png" alt="Field of View" /></a></p>
<p>It obviously is crucial to see what is happening around you. To increase the area that you can see, adjust the field of view to your liking. While the default value is at 90, I personally play with a field of view of 120, and find this a quite usable setting. Remember though, that changing the field of view has an impact on your ability to aim, very similar to changing settings of your mouse sensitivity. The higher the field of view, the harder it can be to aim. I have a lousy aim anyway, so I can play with fov 120 alright. You can change the field of view in the menu or via console by:</p>
<pre><code>fov 120 (adjust to your liking)
</code></pre>
<h3 id="visible-players">Visible Players</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/forceplayers-double.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/forceplayers-double-thumb.png" alt="Visible Players" /></a></p>
<p>Most player models are really hard to spot, as they are optimized to look good and, to some extent, realistic. This means their textures are subject to the usual rendering procedures which calculate how much light from the surroundings will be reflected by the player models. Consequently, most models are hard to see in dark corners, and don’t have a strong contrast to the background in general. There is one model though that uses “fullbright” textures, which are always displayed at full brightness, and this is the &ldquo;Mega Erebus”. With 0.8.2, first steps were taken to add fullbright skins for each and every model, in the course of which the &ldquo;Mega Erebus&rdquo; got removed (a bit too early) from the model selection menu. As a consequence, you cannot select it via menu for the time being, so you&rsquo;ll have to use the console for that, as it&rsquo;s still available.</p>
<pre><code>playermodel &quot;models/player/megaerebus.iqm&quot;
</code></pre>
<p>Now there is a way to make every other player be displayed to you as “Mega Erebus” even if they selected a different model, and you can do that by selecting it for your own player and forcing your own model on everyone. This can be done via menu, but here’s the console command:</p>
<pre><code>cl_forceplayermodels 1
</code></pre>
<p>Be warned though that the sounds other players make still remain the same, so don’t be shocked if a Mega Erebus is commenting to you in a Pinky Pie voice on servers that have ponies enabled. If you dislike other people using colors that may blend too well into the map, you can also select a particularly bright color for yourself and force it onto everyone as well:</p>
<pre><code>cl_forceplayercolors 1
</code></pre>
<p>These settings obviously have the disadvantage that you become extremely visible to everyone else, too - but it would be rather unfair if you could make everyone extremely visible while staying a grey mouse, wouldn’t it?</p>
<h3 id="reducing-effects">Reducing Effects</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/other-effects.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/other-effects-thumb.png" alt="Reducing Effects" /></a></p>
<p>I personally strongly dislike blood splatter and gibs flying around as a matter of taste, but disabling all the gory mess also has visual advantages beyond personal preference. The more unnecessary detail gets rendered, the harder it is to filter out the information that is actually relevant. Therefore, turning off gibs is a good way to get rid of a whole bunch of effects that only get in your way if you want to keep an overview in the heat of a fight:</p>
<pre><code>cl_gentle_gibs 1 (note that you may need to restart Xonotic or reconnect for this change to take effect)
</code></pre>
<p>But not only gibs can obscure things, also particle effects of explosions, coronas and bloom can impact on visibility:</p>
<pre><code>cl_particles_alpha 0.2 (feel free to experiment with values between 0 and 1)
cl_particles_sparks 0
cl_particles_blood 0
r_coronas 0
r_bloom 0
</code></pre>
<h3 id="picmip-and-simple-items">Picmip and Simple Items</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/picmip-and-simple-items-double.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/picmip-and-simple-items-double-thumb.png" alt="Picmip and Simple Items" /></a></p>
<p>Now the game still looks somewhat ok-ish. Time to change this! Let’s get rid of all those details in textures that generate contrasts where it isn’t needed:</p>
<pre><code>gl_picmip_world 10
gl_texturecompression 1 (if you like, or need faster loading)
</code></pre>
<p>What, still looks the same? Well, then do</p>
<pre><code>vid_restart
</code></pre>
<p>and enjoy :D</p>
<p>Some people even like to replace the beautiful pickup models by twodimensional, bright sprites. I personally don’t see a visibility benefit, but the bright symbols could be considered as easier to spot. To enable “simple items”, do:</p>
<pre><code>cl_simple_items 1
</code></pre>
<p>You will have to reconnect to the server (or, if you test it in a local game, type <code>restart</code> in console). Note that this change only works on servers that allow this setting to be used.</p>
<h3 id="crosshair">Crosshair</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/crosshair.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/crosshair-thumb.png" alt="Crosshair" /></a></p>
<p>The next thing is to set an always visible crosshair. Though I personally like the per-weapon crosshairs, they unfortunately are not very bright. With them, I often had the problem of identifying where that crosshair actually is in the middle of a battle. Even though I probably ended up landing quite some hits this way due to my particularly fuzzy aim which seldomly places the crosshair on the target, I decided to make the crosshair really visible, now that I deliberately chose to use the darn thing. You can very comfortably configure the crosshair via the menu or just copy my settings:</p>
<pre><code>crosshair 27 (this is really all about personal preference)
crosshair_alpha 1
crosshair_effect_scalefade 0
crosshair_effect_time 0
crosshair_enabled 2
crosshair_dot 1
crosshair_dot_color 0.24 1 0.13 (this too is all about personal preference)
crosshair_per_weapon 0
crosshair_color_per_weapon 1 (if you like to know the weapon per crosshair color)
crosshair_ring 0 (this removes the vortex ring, keep it if you like to see it)
crosshair_ring_reload 1 (mg reload ring might be useful)
crosshair_ring_reload_size 1 (adjust to your liking, default is too big imho)
crosshair_size 0.28 (adjust to your liking)
</code></pre>
<h3 id="fine-tuning">Fine Tuning</h3>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/fine-tuning.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/fine-tuning-thumb.png" alt="Fine Tuning" /></a></p>
<p>If you have already set up weapon binds following the instructions <a href="#keyboard-setup">above</a> and are really confident about them, you might even choose to remove the rendered first person weapon model so it doesn’t block your view:</p>
<pre><code>r_drawviewmodel 0
</code></pre>
<p>Now you’ll only know what weapon you hold by remembering the bind you pressed last and by the color of the crosshair. But if you managed to get the weapon binds into your cerebellum, this is manageable - decide for yourself if you’re ready for this. I started using this setting when publishing the <a href="http://www.xonotic.org/2013/09/halogenes-newbie-corner-part-6-optimizing-perception">Newbie Corner #6</a>, and feel very comfortable with it for already quite a while.</p>
<p>When using the zoom to improve sight in a fast paced game like Xonotic, you won’t want the view to be impaired by some mask around the crosshair that generates the impression you look through some binoculars or something:</p>
<pre><code>cl_reticle 0
</code></pre>
<p>Also, who wants to waste time for the transition between zoom and non-zoom?</p>
<pre><code>cl_zoomspeed -1
</code></pre>
<p>Ever since I configured a dedicated zoom key that I can use on all weapons (you can do so via the Menu, Settings window, Input tab), I got annoyed by the zoom getting lost upon switching the weapon, which results in loosing your aim just when it is crucial to hit. You can disable this by doing:</p>
<pre><code>cl_unpress_zoom_on_weapon_switch 0
</code></pre>
<p>Bobbing effects are generally only for conveying a “realistic feel” but don’t serve a purpose that’s important for the gameplay. Quite to the contrary, they make your view less steady. So you might want to switch off all sorts of bobbings:</p>
<pre><code>cl_bobfall 0
cl_bobmodel 0
cl_bobup 0
</code></pre>
<p>If you like to keep an eye on the action (and on who takes which items) when you get fragged, you can disable automatically showing the scoreboard when dead with:</p>
<pre><code>cl_deathscoreboard 0
</code></pre>
<h2 id="audio">Audio</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2013/09/audio.png"><img src="http://xonotic.org/m/uploads/2014/04/audio-thumb.png" alt="Audio" /></a></p>
<p>Apart from all the visual stuff, you can of course also improve perception by adjusting the audio settings. While there is quite some remarkably good music in Xonotic, in-game music can distract you and predominate pickup or movement sounds that you might want to hear. The same goes for ambient sounds. Whereas these greatly add to the atmosphere of the game, they can prevent you from predicting where an opponent will come from, what the player’s approximate health status is and what is being picked up. So if you can do without the atmosphere, you might want to turn those off via the menu.</p>
Overkill tutorialhttp://xonotic.org/okguide/
Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 UTCAnt Zucarohttp://xonotic.org/okguide/
<p>Overkill is a Xonotic mod defined by fast movement, fewer but more powerful weapons, nades and respawning near team mates.</p>
<p>To excel at Overkill there are two things to practice: aim and speed. If you&rsquo;re feeling old or your reflexes aren&rsquo;t that good, don&rsquo;t despair, since speed is the more important of the two. Some of the best players focus on movement almost exclusively.</p>
<!-- not using hugo's ToC since it's too fine grained -->
<ul>
<li><a href="#movement">Movement</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#bunny-hopping">Bunny Hopping</a></li>
<li><a href="#laser-blaster">Laser / Blaster</a></li>
<li><a href="#dodging">Dodging</a></li>
<li><a href="#nade-jumping">Nade Jumping</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#weapons">Weapons</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#basic-weapons">Basic Weapons</a></li>
<li><a href="#super-weapons">Super Weapons</a></li>
<li><a href="#nades">Nades</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#items">Items</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#health">Health</a></li>
<li><a href="#armor">Armor</a></li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<h1 id="movement">Movement</h1>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/omrOV09Oo04"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<p>Every <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide#movement">vanilla movement tip</a> also applies in Overkill. However there is one key aspect making the game way faster - <strong>dodging</strong>. But let&rsquo;s review the basics first:</p>
<h2 id="bunny-hopping">Bunny Hopping</h2>
<p><a href="http://xonotic.org/guide#bunny-hopping">Same as vanilla</a> - instead of just walking around you should always jump because it&rsquo;s much faster. Basically keep the <code>jump</code> key (by default <code>space bar</code>) pressed all the time. The are only two exceptions to this rule:</p>
<ol>
<li>you <em>want</em> to be slow (to not fall off a ledge)</li>
<li>you need to <em>sneak</em>, since bunny hopping makes a lot of noise (you can crouch additionally to further minimize your movement noises).</li>
</ol>
<p>The turning and strafing tips also apply: hold <code>forward</code> to move straight, release <code>forward</code> and press <code>left</code> or <code>right</code> while moving the mouse slow but steadily in that direction to turn.</p>
<h2 id="laser-blaster">Laser / Blaster</h2>
<p>All weapons in Overkill have the same secondary fire - laser (sometimes called blaster). It pushes the player using it (and also flags and nades), but unlike in vanilla it doesn&rsquo;t deal any damage. So blast away, literally.</p>
<p>Its main uses are:</p>
<ul>
<li>jumping higher - just aim at the floor and shoot (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3a127HCT0E">video</a>)</li>
<li>climbing walls - no matter how high, just keep shooting the laser at roughly 45° down against the wall</li>
<li>accelerating - shoot the floor or wall <a href="http://xonotic.org/guide#wall-blastering">slightly behind you</a> for a noticeable boost.</li>
<li>shooting nades or the flag on the ground to make them bounce a little - this is great for separating the flag and the nade when a killed FC drops both.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="dodging">Dodging</h2>
<h3 id="when-starting-to-move">When starting to move</h3>
<p>Dodging is Overkill&rsquo;s defining feature. When you want to start moving, <strong>quickly press <code>forward</code> twice</strong>. You must be completely still before this and it must be followed by bunny hopping or else you lose your speed as soon as you touch the floor again. (Press <code>forward</code>, <code>forward</code>, <em>then</em> hold <code>jump</code> - don&rsquo;t press <code>jump</code> before the first <code>forward</code> or it won&rsquo;t work).</p>
<p>You should do this <strong>every time after spawning</strong> because this is the fastest way to start moving. You&rsquo;ll accelerate several times faster than normally.</p>
<h3 id="wall-dodging">Wall-dodging</h3>
<p>Dodging does not only apply to starting a movement, but can be used on every (more or less) smooth surface next to you. For example you can bunny hop alongside a wall and press the <code>forward</code> key in quick succession to gain more speed. You can do this multiple times with only a short cooldown time. You can reach very high speeds using wall dodging. Good maps to try this out are Tarx and Implosion.</p>
<p>The fastest way to accelerate is a combination of both wall-dodging and blastering. This can <strong>double your speed</strong> when done right.</p>
<h2 id="nade-jumping">Nade Jumping</h2>
<p>Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sometimes you need to get away <em>really</em> fast. One way to do that is to let a <em>nade</em> (see the <a href="#nades">nade entry</a> in the weapons section below) explode in your hand. This can be done by either facing in the opposite direction of where you want to be hurled or by being in the upward motion of a jump when the nade explodes. Space Elevator is a good map to try this out. You can see this in action in <a href="https://youtu.be/KN98jADZBgk?t=5m34s">this video</a>.</p>
<p>Since a nade does about 160 damage you need additional armor or health for this trick, otherwise you&rsquo;d just commit suicide.</p>
<h1 id="weapons">Weapons</h1>
<h2 id="basic-weapons">Basic Weapons</h2>
<p>Every player has the same three weapons. You don&rsquo;t have to collect them and you also have infinite ammo. The only thing you have to care about is to choose the right weapon for a task and timing the reloads.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Vortex</strong> (also called <em>nex</em>, long distance, perfectly precise)
<ul>
<li>the main weapon, good in almost every situation</li>
</ul></li>
<li><strong>Shotgun</strong> (close range, with spread)
<ul>
<li>more damage than vortex but only in short range</li>
<li>faster rate of fire</li>
<li>slows enemies down - shoot them when they&rsquo;re jumping across a chasm to make them fall</li>
</ul></li>
<li><strong>Machine Gun</strong> (also called <em>uzi</em>, mid-range weapon with a bit of spread)
<ul>
<li>spread increases gradually, better shoot short bursts</li>
<li>also slows enemies down</li>
<li>can deal small amounts of damage through walls</li>
<li>great for removing armor shards from enemies, finish them off with a vortex shot afterwards</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p>Two more tips:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Never reload in the middle of a fight.</strong> Switch to a different gun instead, it&rsquo;s much faster.</li>
<li>Whenever you&rsquo;re safe, <strong>reload</strong>. Don&rsquo;t run around with only a single bullet remaining.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="super-weapons">Super Weapons</h2>
<p>Those weapons have to be picked up and are only available on some maps.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Heavy Machine Gun</strong>
<ul>
<li>this is like the machine gun - just bigger, faster, with a larger ammo capacity and <em>way</em> more powerful</li>
<li>point at general direction of the enemy, keep the trigger pulled, enemy dead</li>
</ul></li>
<li><strong>Rocket Propelled Chainsaw Launcher</strong>
<ul>
<li>this sounds more fun than it actually is, basically it&rsquo;s a rocket launcher</li>
<li>slow rockets (not very suitable for long range), huge damage, quite a damage radius</li>
<li>you&rsquo;ll have a hard time not killing yourself with it, so you better jump around while using it and not aim at walls next to you or the ground under your feet</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="nades">Nades</h2>
<p><em>Nade</em> is the shorthand term for <em>grenade</em>. Nades deal quite a lot of damage in a large radius. Keep in mind they bounce off walls and fall down stairs. Due to their damage radius they even hurt players behind walls.</p>
<p>You can arm a nade by pressing the <code>drop weapon</code> bind (by default the <code>g</code> key). After that a countdown of about 5 seconds starts until the nade explodes. You have to press the <code>drop weapon</code> key again to throw it. You can throw a new nade every few seconds.</p>
<p>To excel at nading here are a few tips:</p>
<ul>
<li>Keep the nade in hand until just before the explosion and throw it at an enemy. That way the nade won&rsquo;t bounce off and the enemy has no way to dodge it. You throw with more force the longer you wait.</li>
<li>You can use nades like a mine by dropping it on the floor at a place where an enemy will very likely be in a few moments (e.g. the flag spot in a CTF match). You can easily drop a nade without bouncing by crouching before releasing it.</li>
<li>There is another key bind for nades that works by holding the <code>hook</code> keybind to arm and releasing it to throw. <strong>Don&rsquo;t use that one</strong>, Overkill is too fast for it. You can&rsquo;t afford to keep a key pressed for several seconds. Use the <code>drop weapon</code> bind instead.</li>
<li>Jumppads usually works for nades, too.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="shooting-nades">Shooting nades</h3>
<p>You can also use nades like a rocket launcher by throwing a nade in front of you and then hitting it with the vortex. This propels the nade very far and causes very high damage with quite a bit of spread. It takes a little practice but is definitely worth the effort. Great for getting rid of campers or remote groups of enemies.</p>
<iframe class="youtube-player"
type="text/html" width="640" height="385"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9qE3_YBYp50"
allowfullscreen frameborder="0">
</iframe>
<h1 id="items">Items</h1>
<p>There&rsquo;s not much to say here except <strong>take everything you get</strong>. If you think there&rsquo;s no reason to pick up items because you&rsquo;ll quickly die anyway, you&rsquo;re wrong! Without any pickups a single vortex hit will instantly kill you. So <strong>don&rsquo;t ignore items</strong>, even that tiny 5 armor shard dropped by a killed enemy will keep you alive and win you time to shoot back or get in cover. A fully equipped player (max health at 200 and max armor at 100) will sustain three vortex hits. If they don&rsquo;t come in quick succession even four, because he&rsquo;s probably gonna pick up a shard from a dead body in the meanwhile.</p>
<p>In a 1on1 game you should even pick up items if you&rsquo;re already maxed out. You won&rsquo;t gain any extra health/armor, but you deprive your enemies of that bonus making it easier for you. When playing in a team however you better leave the items for your teammates in need, especially flag carriers in CTF.</p>
<h2 id="health">Health</h2>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Mega (100)</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/s92ftsza0q7r8daau47z.png" alt="" /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2 id="armor">Armor</h2>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Mega (100)</th>
<th>Big (50)</th>
<th>Small (5)</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/havtb83g2yglb201q84t.png" alt="" /></td>
<td><img src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/jyi1aj1vx6rrrckx7zgt.png" alt="" /></td>
<td><img src="http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/images/5zl9javsx6dasvom21gv.png" alt="" /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The small (5) shard is dropped by killed enemies. As noted above, it&rsquo;s more useful than it looks.</p>
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